If you work at Havas Worldwide in Chicago, your morning “hellos” probably also include a scratch behind the ear.
No, the advertising and PR company’s employees are not oddly close and OK with strange expressions of PDA. Their offices are among the many workspaces in Chicago that allows employees to bring their pets to work.
“The people asked, we set some ground rules and let it happen,” Havas Chicago Group CEO Paul Marobella said about the decision to open the office up to the animals, who attend meetings, go to company lunches and play pingpong with the team.
According to the American Pet Products Association, 20 percent of companies in the U.S. have adopted pet-friendly policies, and with good reason.
“Pets make our people happy,” said Marobella, 46, of Oak Park, whose company’s offices in River North have 10 to 15 dogs roaming around at any given time. “It’s a scientific fact that petting a dog relieves stress, and our employees have access to plenty of dogs on any given day.”
Not that having cute pups around the office needs justification, but a 2012 Virginia Commonwealth University study showed that employees who bring dogs to work produced lower levels of cortisol, the stress hormone.
For Havas technology director Michael Uccetta, 34, of River North, bringing his 9-year-old beagle, Moxie, with him to work allowed him to talk to his co-workers more, even if they just wanted to get their dog fix.
“People walk by my desk all day and stop to say hi to her and cheer up their own day,” Uccetta said. “She gets that positive attention and socializing, and I don’t have to leave her at home.”
In that same vein, a 2010 study from Central Michigan University found that having dogs in the workplace leads to more trust between co-workers and a more harmonious and collaborative workspace. And the pets sometimes take on their own office roles.
“Gus is basically just a little intern,” Havas search specialist Eric Schrieber, 26, of Lakeview, said of his 2-year-old French bulldog. “[He] basically acts and interacts like any other employee in the office. Although the humans here usually don’t lick any body part continuously and aggressively as a form of greeting.”
At The Nerdery, a custom software and business solutions agency, having pets around the office was so important, it was one of the requirements for their new Chicago office space.
“The dogs really become a part of the family,” said the director of The Nerdery’s Chicago branch, Don Durbin, 57, of Winnetka. “Everybody hangs out with them, takes them for walks.”
Two of the most common pup faces around The Nerdery are Sully and Charlie, who belong to humans Kaleb Luhman and Jenny Stetler, respectively. Sully comes in two to three times a week in the summer (nearly every day in the colder months), and Charlie comes to work nearly every day.
“They’re basically our office mascots,” said Stetler, 34, of Wicker Park. “Everybody stops to say hello or offer to take them and play with them for a few minutes.”
Stetler, who works in sales for the Nerdery, sometimes leaves Charlie with her co-workers while she goes out for client meetings. In that way, the office comes together to take care of the pups and each person gets to feel the benefits of having a furry friendly face around.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, taking a dog for a walk can decrease blood pressure and cholesterol levels—and according to the Journal of Experimental Psychology, getting up and taking a walk can boost creativity by 60 percent compared to just sitting at a desk. As if you needed any more reason to have a pup around your desk, it’s basically the perfect recipe for an intellectually stimulated, happy-as-hell and fit-as-a-fiddle office.
“It’s just nice to turn around and have him there,” said Luhman, 23, of Oak Park. “Without having to get up and take him outside, I wouldn’t leave my desk. If I have a project that’s giving me a hard time, I can turn to him and refresh my brain or get away from it for a minute.”
At insurance company Insureon, Gunner, a 4-year-old German shepherd-Lab mix, helps the humans of the office relax for a bit.
“He’s someone to take a break with,” said Gunner’s owner, Tanveer Hira, Insureon’s vice president of service engagement. “You turn around, and he’s there to put a smile on your face.”
Gunner has been coming to the office for five days a week for most of his life and has strong relationships with everybody in the office, where Hira, 28, of suburban Wheaton, says he’s completely integrated.
“I do get a little jealous,” Hira said.
The benefits of having a dog in the workplace don’t extend only to the employees who see them day to day. While it may be considered cheating to have a cute dog help you sell stuff, it works. For Crosby, a 2-year-old mini-labradoodle, selling booze at Lakeview’s Ezra’s is just a part of life.
“We got Crosby a year after Ezra’s opened, and he’s been coming in for most of his life,” said Crosby’s owner, Parker Newman, 30, of Old Town.
The company’s love for pups isn’t limited to allowing Crosby to hang out behind the counter all day. Ezra’s logo is a dog, and the company itself was named after the dog of a business partner. Having a dog-friendly atmosphere allows consumer-based businesses like Ezra’s to bond with their clients more if they get to spend some time gushing about how cute Crosby is.
And having a pet nearby during the workday, like Newman has Crosby close by, helps employees be more present and focused on their work, rather than stressing about what mischief their four-legged kiddos could be getting up to at home, something Uccetta at Havas can relate to over his beagle, Moxie.
“I get more done with her by my side,” Uccetta said. “I don’t have to worry about whether she’s OK at home, if the dog walker was on time. I can work the hours I need to without a countdown to when I need to get home to avoid ‘accidents.'”
@shelbielbostedt | sbostedt@redeyechicago.com
