Blog | Dog's Day at iAdvize: The Benefits of Bringing Your Dog to Work

The sound of paws, flashes of fur, sneaky snouts—it's not a dream, it's Friday at iAdvize! Fridays have officially become our bring-your-dog-to-work days, an initiative that sprouted from a casual conversation and the thought, "Why don't we do it?" Here's an inside glimpse into how Dog’s Day came to be.

Colleagues Like No Other: The Dog's Day Initiative

Several studies show that having pets in the workplace positively affects employee well-being. According to a study by the University of Lincoln in the UK, employees who often bring their dog to work report being 22% more satisfied with their working conditions. The study also points out that dog owners working alongside their pets show a 33.4% increase in concentration and a 16.5% rise in engagement with their tasks. Clearly, our furry friends can bring benefits for both our personal lives and company productivity.

The first step to making this idea a reality was to outline the project:

Identify the project's purpose
Explain expected benefits
Establish rules to follow
Create a plan to put it into action

This process was crucial to securing approval for a test period back in July 2022.

Dog's Day at iAdvize

Challenges and Benefits of Bringing Your Dog to Work

To ensure the project's success, we conducted an internal survey to:

Gather employee feedback
Determine how many employees were willing to bring their dogs
Identify pet-friendly and non-pet-friendly zones in the office

We designated a specific dog-free area for people with allergies or who prefer not to be around animals while working. Additionally, rules were established for the dogs' movement within the office, with clear signage to inform all employees of their presence.

While bringing your dog to work has many advantages, it also requires a lot of organization and planning:

“Dog day is without a doubt Sokka's favorite day since he gets attention from all the employees on the 6th floor and can play with Pogo. The dogs' presence was well-received on my floor and brightened up our Fridays. Sokka particularly enjoyed coming to iAdvize because it meant riding on a bike in a special backpack—a setup that did become challenging on rainy days. All the necessary items for his visits were stored in my locker, which made it much easier to get around.”

Léa, Personal Data Legal Advisor

Positive Feedback On Having Dogs In The Office

Our test took place on a Friday when fewer people were at the office in person, to gauge the impact of the dogs' presence on the atmosphere and productivity. The results (to no one’s surprise) were overall very positive. Employees were thrilled, and many even participated in bringing their own dogs.

Following this, we decided to establish a new Charter with clear rules for dog owners participating in Dog Day.

The feedback has been very positive, with employees who usually work remotely on Fridays choosing to come into the office to see the dogs, and others even changing floors to work closer to them. We first established this as a monthly initiative, but quickly turned it into a weekly event every Friday.

“Coming to work with your dog is a real privilege, for them, for yourself, and for others. When I see my colleagues come to pet Mojo whenever they need a break, and then return to their desks with a smile, I know we’ve succeeded! A dog makes every day better. Beyond that, I find that their presence offers the chance to start conversations with people I’ve never spoken to before. I think dogs have a strong impact on our social connections and encourage interactions that unintentionally create a form of cohesion among all iAdvize employees.”

Emma, Content Manager Apprentice

This initiative was officially approved by our Social and Economic Committee (CSE), and the Dog's Day Charter was integrated into the company's internal regulations.

Since then, here's what our end of the week tends to look like: