BURLINGTON, Vt. -
Putting the news together can sometimes be a stressful job. But Sir Walter, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy, is helping WCAX Video Editor Justin Lajoie keep cool when the workload heats up.
"It's nice being able to have him here," Lajoie said.
Every day is take your dog to work day for this duo.
"The de-stress and the love of a puppy is well worth a few accidents on the rug," Lajoie said.
At Seventh Generation in downtown Burlington, Josh Lucier knows the benefits firsthand.
"Mo's my best friend. She really is," Lucier said.
Mogley is his cubicle companion in the Finance Department, checking out Josh's work, even going to meetings-- some with people, some with other dogs.
"I definitely feel less stressed out if there's something stressful going on if I can get up and take my dog out for a walk," Lucier said.
"If their dog wants to be here and they want to bring their dog-- we love it," said Sarah Lord, the human resources manager at Seventh Generation.
The ecofriendly home care products company has welcomed dogs in the workplace since it launched 24 years ago.
"We really believe that if we support the employee in being a whole person and being the best they can be as a person that they're going to show up at work as the best they can be," Lord said.
And researchers have found that employees in dog-friendly workplaces have greater job satisfaction and less stress.
"The dogs are basically a relaxation device," said Robert Letovsky, who chairs the business department at St. Michael's College in Colchester.
Letovsky says reducing stress can boost productivity, but you need some stress to stay focused.
"Too little anxiety and you get basically what looks to be a resort; people are hanging out, coming in and getting paid," Letovsky said.
At Seventh Generation, tremendous growth led to more employees, more dogs and more problems. Not with productivity, but with office etiquette. So the company created an official pet policy two years ago and brought in a dog trainer.
"As that happened we had some dogs that weren't as well socialized as others," Lord said. "So we had to set rules and teach them how to get along."
Now man's best friend is the company's best friend, too.
