Pets have been proven to improve our lives in many different ways. At work, they boost our morale, encourage collaboration, reduce stress, promote good health besides many other benefits. Essentially, pets make us better workers at the office.
There is a catch, however, since not all pets are the same. Your choice of a pet at your place of work will determine the difference between a headache and peace of mind. You also need to know the guidelines for your place of work since not all workplaces allow pets to begin with.
The Benefits of Workplace Pets
Some of the benefits of having a pet at your place of work include the following:
1. Boost Morale
Having a pet around the office has been found to motivate people given the playful nature of the pets. Seeing colorful fish in a tank or a cat rubbing on your feet easily boosts your morale. Pets also make workers more satisfied with their work due to the emotional bond they create.
2. Encourage Collaboration
Studies carried out the Central Michigan University showed that the emotional connection created by a pet at the workplace is instrumental in building trust among workers. This way, a pet at work makes it easier for employees to collaborate with one another.
3. Reduce Stress
One of the main reasons for having pets is that they give us company and elevate our moods. From dogs to cats and hamsters and even goldfishes, pets evoke the same emotions we get from loved ones. Having one as you work will thus make you a better worker by reducing the stress associated from your job.
4. Promote Good Health
Having better morale, collaborating with others and having less stress will of course make you healthier. With better health, you’re more likely to be more productive and work for longer.
5. Improve Job Satisfaction
Your office pet gives you and your coworkers one more thing to look forward to at work. Being greeted with the office dog with a wagging tail is a great feeling as it makes you feel loved at work.
10 Low Maintenance Pets for the Office
From the reasons above and expert research, we deduce that the best pets for the office include the following:
1. Fish
Fish are easily the best office pets you can have. While you won’t have much physical contact with them, the site of colorful fishes swimming around a well-lit tank is so relaxing. Also, very few offices will object to having a beautiful aquarium taking up some space.
With fish, giving them the right conditions is the only thing you need to do. A clean tank with the right water temperature for the breed of fish you pick on, the proper lighting and amount of fish are some of the aspects to always consider. Some of the best fish breeds for an office include zebrafish, goldish, angelfish, barb fish, betta fish, guppies and many others.
2. Cats
Our furry friends are easy to love. Cats are some of the easiest to live with both at home and the office. They spend lots of time simply taking care of themselves, sleeping and chasing rodents from the office. Good thing that they’re always there to be petted when you need them.
Taking care of cats is quite easy since they’re very intelligent. You can thus easily toilet-train them and won’t have an issue with them making a mess of the office. Cats also have the advantage of being very graceful to the extent that they won’t topple over things even at a high speed.
3. Mice, Hamsters or Gerbils
Caged rodents are some of the best office pets you can get thanks to their playful nature and low maintenance. They’re simple pets that provide good feedback and, being caged and well-fed, won’t gnaw away at your cables and other items.
While hamsters spend a good part of the day asleep waking up to feed and exercise at night, gerbils equally sleep and stay awake during the day. All the rodents here will need fresh food and water daily, a sleeping area and some toys to exercise. The best is to include a wheel for their workouts.
4. Dogs
Dogs aren’t called man’s best friend for nothing. They are indeed the most popular of pets and the reason they’re not first on the list is that they require a bit of more care than the others above them. Other than that, dogs are perfect for any office.
You should go for the mild breeds preferably the smaller ones as they’re easy to care for. While the dog might be a bit shy when first introduced into the work place, it’ll soon get along with everyone and make the office a fun place to be at.
5. Budgies
Budgies (budgerigar in full) are a type of parakeet that do a great job as a parrot without the extra care parrots need. They mimic words quite well (especially the male ones) and bond well and fast with humans. They’re small in size and require very little care.
Budgies will have to be caged with food, water and a perch for their exercises. If you’re going for one bird, it’ll need an hour with a person to keep it from getting lonely and bored. If you’re getting more than one, they’ll not need to spend time with a person although they’ll be so much into each other that they won’t be so much into people. They’ll still be fun to look at and engage with even with each other.
6. Sea-Monkeys
Another water pet you can get is a sea-monkey. In fact, given their diminutive stature, you can get as many as your aquarium allows. These are small water animals measuring only about an inch long (0.75 inches most of them) that live up to 2 years and require very little care. They look like small monkeys with large eyes, feet and a long tail.
Sea-monkeys need to be fed only once a week and given an occasional glance on how they’re doing in general. Keep their water clean and aerated well and they’ll give you such a show in the water.
7. Degus
Degus are small furry animals that look quite like rats but are in fact related to rabbits. In the wild, they’re found living in groups of over 100. As such, you need at least 2 of them to keep them from getting bored. They’ll play with one another most of them and are very entertaining to look at.
These pets are quite intelligent and like playing games even when being petted. They need a slightly larger cage than others of their size with lots of toys, a sand-bath and a cool temperature below 20°C. Degus are quite friendly and are among the friendliest of the rodents.
8. Finches and Canaries
Finches, canaries and other small birds give you the opportunity to enjoy the company of a pet without necessarily going to the wild to watch them. They don’t need much in terms of care and will rarely get sick or make annoying noises.
For these birds, all you need is a large-enough cage for them to fly around, water, food and a perch or swing that they can use to exercise. Make sure you give them the right food for the breed of bird you’ll be getting. Avoid crowding them in a cage. With the proper care, such birds can live up to 10 years.
9. Leopard Geckos
Leopard geckos are among the many reptiles you can keep without incurring much. Of all reptiles, they’re the cheapest to buy and keep as they don’t need UV bulbs or other complicated and delicate conditions. As long as you provide food, water and plenty of space to hide and play, they’ll be very happy.
Give them a source of heat such as a bulb or heat pad since reptiles don’t produce their own body heat. Aside from that, these reptiles are among the friendliest pets you can have. They’re also quite entertaining and mysterious in their behavior.
10. Hermit Crabs
Hermit crabs are among the most entertaining pets you can have in the office. They’re given this name from their unique behavior which involves moving from one shell to the other as they grow. They don’t actually make their own shells but pick up shells, live in them until they’re too big for them after which they seek out bigger shells.
Taking care of hermit crabs is quite easy. Just get more than one young crab with at least 2 shells for each one. As they grow, provide bigger shells with the right food and water. This way, they’ll grow into the new shells just like they do in nature.
These pets will make your office interesting and fun to work from. They’re also cheap and easy to take care of. Just ensure their safety and that of the office workers.
What to Consider When Buying an Office Pet
While pets will make your workplace a joy, there are many factors to consider before getting the pet that’s best suited to your place of work. For this reason, you need to consider the following aspects:
1. Level of Maintenance
Pets have varying levels of maintenance and your workplace and nature of work will determine that. There are pets such as fish in an aquarium that need very little care such that most tasks will be automated.
On the other hand, some animals such as dogs and birds may need to be trained to use the toilet and other aspects. Depending on the level of maintenance, you can thus pick the right animal for your place of work.
2. Animal Temperament
The pet you get for your workplace needs to be calm, gentle and even entertaining. And, while there are pet species generally rated as being gentle, each specific animal will have its own temperament and will thus need to be thoroughly assessed before being introduced into the office. Dogs and cats and other animals not in cages or behind barriers fall into this category.
You don’t want a dog that scares your employees at work, do you?
3. Health Considerations
Pets can also pose a health risk. For example, there are employees who may be allergic to certain animals such as the fur from cats. If you work in the food and catering industry, you can only be allowed to keep certain pets such as goldfish. Cats and others may not be allowed straight away.
4. Workplace Rules
While you may be in love with a certain pet, your workplace may not allow that kind of pet or pets in general. This will determine if you can keep a pet and, if so, what you need to do with it.
5. Get Insurance
With any part at work, you should get comprehensive liability insurance cover in the case that it harms someone at work. Among the reasons people choose not to take this cover is that they trust their pets so much they can’t accept the fact that they are a risk to others. This is a major mistake that can land you in lots of problems. Always have insurance for your pets even at home.
6. Adopt Rather Buying the Pet
Adopting not only saves you the costs of buying a pet, but helps put a pet into the right hands. We highly advocate for it.
With these considerations, you can easily get the pet you want to liven your place of work. Keep in mind that the pet you get should have the right temperament, be easy to take care of and not a health risk.
