Nestlé lets its British employees bring their dogs to work every day


In late 2015, Swiss food giant Nestlé began opening its headquarters in Great Britain to employee dogs, and by the end of this year, Nestlé Gatwick will have about 100 dogs with their own employee badges. The employees, especially those who have already gotten "pawthorization" to bring their dogs to work, generally say the Pets at Work (PAW) program is a success. "It's like having a member of your family in the office," Odette Forbes, head of media relations and owner of Reggie the beagle, told The Guardian last year. "There's something about it that feels so right."
The purported benefits of having your dog at work include reduced stress and increased social interaction (among people, not necessarily dogs). Nestlé lets employees bring their prescreened dogs to meetings in certain dog-friendly conference rooms, and the company provides cushions, toys and treats, and an outdoor garden called Central Bark. Terrible puns aside, the dogs do appear to make for a friendlier workspace, as the BBC News video below shows.
Now, if Nestlé goes on to allow cats in the office, the feline companions may not make the office a more social place — but they also wouldn't bark at the mail delivery staff or steal food from the kitchen. Probably.
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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