Dogs make the best coworkers. That’s what a majority of respondents (58%) said in a recent survey conducted by the CESAR brand as part of the CESAR HIRE MY DOG program, aimed to help pet parents advocate for pet-friendly workplaces.
Launched in March 2022, the CESAR HIRE MY DOG program offers expertise, tools and resources to help make the world a dog-friendly place, starting with the workplace. Now, through a partnership with Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin of The Home Edit – and their dogs Indie, Emmett and Mabel – the brand is sharing expert tips to help inspire and transform offices into dog-friendly workspaces.
Marrying The Home Edit’s keen eye for organization with the expertise from Mars Petcare – the Cesar brand’s parent company – and their BETTER CITIES FOR PETS PETS WORK AT WORK toolkit and expert resources, Shearer and Teplin have come up with a few ways to help inspire and transform offices into functional and stylized pet-friendly workspaces:
- Organize single-serve meals for office dogs – like CESAR Canine Cuisine – by flavor and color in clear bins, so they can be grabbed easily. For dry dog food and treats, clear containers, jars or canisters make it easy to spot when items are running low.
- Designate a dog zone in a common area for toys, potty supplies, brushes and more. Store each category in baskets with labels so employees can easily find what they are looking for.
- Store a cleanup caddy under the office sinks with pet-friendly carpet cleaners, disinfecting sprays or wipes, and paper towels to quickly clean up any messes. Make sure the cleaning supplies are not accessible to pets.
“We understand the benefit of being with our dogs. Over the last few years especially, Indie, Emmett and Mabel have consistently been by our side across all facets of life, including our day-to-day work with The Home Edit,” said Shearer and Teplin. “Being together with our pets helps us thrive, love more and have more fun when getting organized, and that’s why we’re excited to be partnering with the CESAR team to help bring more people and their pets together.”
Experiencing Shared Joy in the Workplace
To give people the opportunity to experience the benefit of working alongside their dogs, today at Ponce City Market in Atlanta, the CESAR brand is hosting a “Pup-Up” Workspace, open to pet parents and their pets. The one-day event brings to life just how simple it is to go pet-friendly and features amenities every pet-friendly workspace needs to ensure pets and pet parents can comfortably and responsibly enjoy time together at the office, including leash attachments at desks, water bowls and beds for furry friends, durable, pet-friendly furniture and floors, and a stash of CESAR Canine Cuisine. The experience will also allow pet-parents to answer a few emails at workstations, enjoy a pick-me-up together with their pet at the coffee cart stocked with lattes and pup cups and create a resume for their pet with the CESAR HIRE MY DOG resume builder. The resumes can be used to play up the qualities that pets can bring to the workplace and help pet parents advocate for their canine coworkers.
As more businesses continue to return to the office, the demand for pets and their pet parents to be together at work continues to grow. In fact, according to a recent Mars Petcare survey of pet parents, 89% of people say it’s important that they can continue to spend time with pets during the workday, especially after spending the last two years at home with them. The recent CESAR brand survey also found that more than half of dog owners feel bringing their dog to work would encourage them to take breaks (55%) and would foster more social interaction in the workplace (52%).
“A pet-friendly workplace is essential to our company’s culture. Our organization has implemented pet-friendly policies and continually works to reinforce ‘pet perks’ by improving our spaces and office plans to ensure they are as pet-friendly as possible,” said Dave Bradey, People & Organization Leader, Mars Petcare North America. “As pet parents ourselves, we know ‘togetherness’ at work relieves stress, increases community and boosts morale, which is why we want to share the tools and resources to make going pet-friendly in the workplace accessible for all companies, so that people and their pets can always be together in life.”
To learn more about the CESAR brand’s mission to create more pet-friendly workplaces, visit CESARHireMyDog.com, or follow the CESAR brand on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. To further ease the transition to a pet-friendly space, Mars Petcare’s BETTER CITIES FOR PETS PETS WORK AT WORK toolkit provides employers with pet-friendly workplace resources, including a sample pet policy, pet amenities considerations and tips on pet-friendly design.
