Brand ambassadors, Insta-fame and the ultimate team mascot. We see more and more urban workers bringing their dogs to work with them. Office dogs are a very cute way to promote a stress free office environment and just one of the benefits of using co-working spaces. Stick with the co-working trends. Encourage your employees to bring their pooch to work. It’s a serious job perk for both dog owners and their co-workers. Here’s why…

An injection of energy

Give your team a boost. Encourage time away from desks in between tasks to recharge those batteries. Most deadlines can wait the short amount of time it takes to have a lunch break. And you’ll be far better equipped to tackle your projects when you’ve been outside. Breaks also help productivity. Stretch those legs. Go for a walk with the office dog.

Dilute the pressures of the working day by recruiting a fluffy team member with an immunity to work stress. Take a moment to let the ideas bouncing around in your head settle while you pet the office pup. Dogs are also a great ice breaker when welcoming new people into the office – unless that person is the postman, in which case they might get a bit of a fright.

Home away from home

There are lots of things you can do to make a room feel more homely. Add your favourite paintings, candles, maybe that Moroccan rug you love. Add a sofa and a curled up cat or dog to the mix and you could be in your own living room. The presence of an office dog helps workspaces to feel less formal and co-workers to behave naturally. The result is a team of employees maximising their working day and achieving their potential.

Not all people are dog people and that’s fine. Office dogs should be the right fit for the office they’ve been assigned to. You can choose to avoid or embrace them.

Reduce blood pressure

It’s difficult to know who enjoys the practice of ‘pet petting’ most, the ‘petter’ or the subject. Many animals like to be stroked. Cats purr and most dogs enjoy a good scratch. We enjoy the soft texture of their fur, the interaction the strokes evoke. But our habit of stroking pets may originate from unseen physiological benefits.

Owning a dog is associated with decreased risk of cardiovascular disease and research has shown dog owners to have lower blood pressure than non-owners. This is due to the calming effect that dogs have and because dog owners tend to get more exercise. But that’s not all. There is evidence that interaction with dogs actually lowers blood pressure. So there it is – having a dog can help your heart, literally. Next time you find your blood pressure increasing, seek comfort from the office dog.

Biophilia

Comfort, encouragement and a human tendency that predates history of the modern human. The first evidence we have of domesticated dogs actually dates back 15,000 years. Man’s best friend indeed.  Biophilia is an innate human tendency to connect with other forms of life. Very cool. It’s one of the reasons why having office plants is a good idea and we have plenty in our flexible office spaces.

Al fresco meetings

Keep up with your deadlines and hit your daily step target. Use your lunch break to re-group and refresh that creativity during a lunchtime walk. We understand that during particularly busy periods, (AKA when your business is thriving) hour long breaks aren’t a feasible luxury. Why not combine your lunchtime stroll and exercising your pooch with your catch up with colleagues. Or even a client meeting (if they love dogs). What could be more stimulating for the brain than fresh air and exercise.

Uncommon workspaces are pet friendly and in carefully selected locations which provide plenty of places to exercise office dogs nearby. Our newest dog friendly office space is one of the best for this. Parsons Green, Hurlingham Park, Bishops Park and South Park are all a short walk away from Uncommon Fulham. Riverside commutes to work and post work socials are a bonus too. Book a visit to the Uncommon work spaces to see how our stress free office environments can work for you.

Uncommon Fulham is a work space that makes you feel good so you can work better with the added bonus of being pet friendly. Browse our locations in Borough, Highbury & Islington, Fulham, and Liverpool Street to get a feel of our unique vision of working life across London.