What would get you into the office? Free lunch? A gym membership? Permission to hang out with your dog? Some employers are trying just that.
The rising trend of pet-friendly offices is part of the effort to incentivize employees to come back to work in person. Many companies completely embraced the remote-friendly convenience of WFH. Digital nomad culture emerged and “second cities” arose when people exited New York, San Francisco, and LA, and headed to Denver, Austin, Charlotte, Nashville, and Raleigh.
But now, employees and employers have a choice to make. The question now is: to return or not to return to the office? This is no longer about forcing employees to commute. Post The Great Resignation, employees feel more empowered to leave in-person positions and seek out remote jobs. So if offices want people to return, they’ve got to do a ton to entice their employees.
Some huge companies with giant operating budgets are not worried. With major perks like shiny facilities and full-service food bars, they feel comfortable requiring in-office work days — even if it’s for a hybrid week. But the solution might be simpler: pet-friendly workplaces.
The Allure of Pet-Friendly Offices
According to the Washington Post, pet-friendly workplaces are becoming a common solution to improve employee morale and appease the rising number of pandemic pet owners. “As offices start reopening and thousands of workers are being called back for the first time in two years, some companies are allowing employees to bring their pets. About 23 million American households adopted a pet during the pandemic, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Many workers say they find pet-friendly environments an important perk for their new furry family members. A recent survey conducted by Banfield Pet Hospital, owned by Mars Inc., showed that 57 percent of the 1,500 pet owners polled said they would be happiest returning to a pet-friendly workplace. Half of the 500 top executives surveyed said they are planning to allow pets at the office. Tech companies including Google, Amazon, and Uber plan to continue to allow dogs at their offices, even with their flexible office policies.”
With so many people adopting and fostering since the pandemic, becoming a pet parent is a trend. And to welcome these new additions into people’s lives, it makes sense for some workplaces to welcome them into the office.
After spending unlimited amounts of time at home, many pets grew greatly attached to their “parents” — and pet-parents feel the same about their pets. Rather than keeping them locked in the house while their caretakers head off to work, this is a mutually beneficial solution to the current separation anxiety faced by pets.
Pets have also been shown to boost happiness in pet owners. According to heart.org, “Studies show that dogs reduce stress, anxiety, and depression; ease loneliness; encourage exercise and improve your overall health. For example, people with dogs tend to have lower blood pressure and are less likely to develop heart disease. Just playing with a dog has been shown to raise levels of the feel-good brain chemicals oxytocin and dopamine, creating positive feelings and bonding for both the person and their pet.” Most likely, this might have a similar effect on people who bond with animals at work that don’t even belong to them, lending an overall mood boost to the office.
The controversy behind pet-friendly workplaces
However, not everyone is as enthusiastic about the prospect. Some would rather keep the office separate from their personal lives. Some are allergic to pets. And some people simply don’t like animals.
Offices considering pet-friendly policies are weighing the pros and cons to keep everyone happy. According to the Washington Post, clear guidelines and communication can increase the chances of success.
“Before making the jump, pet experts say that leaders should first understand whether their employees have interest in, or strong feelings against, having a pet-friendly office. Doing an anonymous survey may allow employees to freely share thoughts on the matter.”
Overall, the key to a policy like this is flexibility. “Be ready to adjust: Above all, pet-friendly offices should be ready to listen and adjust their policies as they go. What works for one office may not work for another, but experts say proper planning can lessen much of the burden.”
Ensure your office is actually suited to the pets you want to welcome. “A well-developed pet-friendly office should be both safe and welcoming to pets. That means companies should consider blocking off areas that could be dangerous to pets as well as making sure pets have access to clean water, food, and places to rest.”
No matter where your pet spends their time, they deserve a bag of treats and toys to make them feel loved and keep them entertained. With Pupbox', never run out of new treats for your pets. Pupbox is a subscription box that sends personalized monthly boxes packed with dog treats, chews, toys, and tips customized to your dog to help you navigate the challenges and celebrate the joys of every stage of your pup’s life.
Pupbox is a monthly puppy box packed with all the toys, treats, accessories, and training info you need to be the best parent pawsible – sorry, couldn’t help myself! Everything’s tested by real dogs and pupstomized to grow with your pup, making sure they always have everything – at just the right time.
For your pet’s optimal health and happiness, give them tasty training treats that meet Petco's high nutritional standards. Pupbox’s teething toys, plush toys, heavy chewers, rope toys, interactive toys, and tough toys are all included and will keep your pup motivated and focused on exciting lessons and games that will grow with your dog!
Keep reading
Show less
<
Did you hear about the Great Resignation? It isn’t over. Just over two years of pandemic living, many offices are finally returning to full-time or hybrid experiences. This is causing employees to totally reconsider their positions.
For many employees, full-time remote work offered newfound flexibility to work around their schedules — whether it be picking up kids from school, or working when they feel most productive. Many employees seized this freedom to escape big cities and relocate and prioritize their quality of life. Remote-work lovers are demanding offices remain closed or requesting it as a benefit or work option. And if their company insists they return? Many would rather look for new jobs in the flourishing remote-first corporate environment.
However, some missed the structure of the office and its offers of accountability, collaboration, more amenities, and . . . friendship. But not all companies are created equal. Some hope to lure employees back by upgrading the office experience. Turns out, the millennial start-up with that Day-Glo ping-pong table and IPAbeer-on-tap isn’t actually the dream if it comes with a toxic work environment (we’re looking at you WeWork). As companies add in-office perks, employees are requesting more support, boundaries — and even arrangements like the four-day workweek.
For the best of both worlds, companies are adopting hybrid systems. However, reports from CNBC and BBC imply that this may be a taxing option. Having one foot in the office and the other in your office kitchen is far from ideal for most employees, research says.
LinkedIn’s 2022 Global Talent Trends report reveals that of the 500 C-level executives surveyed, 81% said they’re changing workplace policies to offer greater flexibility.
But according to CNBC, “emerging data is beginning to show that hybrid work can be exhausting, leading to the very problem workers thought it could solve: burnout. More than 80% of human resources executives report that hybrid is proving to be exhausting for employees. This is according to a global study by employee engagement platform TinyPulse. Workers also reported that hybrid was more emotionally draining than fully remote and more taxing than even full-time office-based work.”
BBC agrees, reporting: “Emerging data is beginning to back up such anecdotal evidence: many workers report that hybrid is emotionally draining … Workers, too, reported hybrid was more emotionally taxing than fully remote arrangements – and, concerningly, even full-time office-based work. Given many businesses plan on implementing permanent hybrid working models, and that employees, by and large, want their working weeks spent between home and the office, such figures sound alarm bells. But what is it specifically about hybrid working that is so emotionally exhausting? And how can workers and companies avoid pitfalls so that hybrid actually works?”
“Overall, human resources executives thought that hybrid and remote work were the most emotionally exhausting for employees, but that wasn’t the case,” Elora Voyles, a people scientist at TinyPulse, told CNBC.
So with every employee having various experiences and opinions about what works best for them and their lifestyles, it makes sense that people are job-hopping to suit their newfound preferences.
Frankly, some are job-hopping to enhance their compensation. Statistically, most people realize their greatest salary increases when they move from one job to another. Remaining at the same company for years and years often limits how much you can make as your career advances. One popular female finance guru, Cinneah El-Amin told Afrotech: “I am a staunch advocate for more women to job-hop, to get the money they deserve, and to stop playing small when it comes to our careers and the next step in our careers.”
The research supports this, with Zippia claiming: “Generally speaking, a good salary increase when changing jobs is between 10-20%. The national average is around 14.8%, so don't be afraid to ask for a similar increase. At a minimum, you should expect a wage growth of at least 5.8% when you change positions.”
However, a job search can be daunting, despite the potential benefits. But if you can land a role in a new company — and potentially boost your salary while you’re at it — you will challenge yourself and constantly keep learning. LinkedIn Learning, for example, is one platform that can help you level up your skills and give you an edge to land the job.
LinkedIn Learning allows you to take advantage of the moments that truly matter. It offers courses on subjects that will carry you through every step of your career. Their instructors have real-world experience.
Check out the LinkedIn Learning Pathfinder and it will generate a custom list of courses based on what you want to achieve. Learn more about recent top career development goals and acquire the skills to help you reach them.
Unsure what to do and how to start your job search? Let LinkedIn Learning be the first step you take in the path to a new and improved career.
Keep reading
Show less
The Office Workplace has changed over the decades. From cubicles and corner offices, to open floor plans — and now your converted coat closets — the locus of our work is always in flux.
Since office life is such a huge part of all of our day-to-day experience — even more so now that it’s invaded our homes — it’s constantly undergoing renovation. Over the past decade, fads have affected the physical office space itself, as well as the underlying theory behind how we structure our work in practice day-to-day.
From self-improvement theories on how to increase productivity — some propagated by out-there tech billionaires who claim extreme measures such as not eating are the key to their success — to cultish workspace inventions like WeWork, sometimes our desperate attempts to upgrade our office life go too far.
WFH brought both challenges and revelations. For many, it was freeing. For others, the pressures to perform well led to absolutely no boundaries — hello, that would be me! As for those who missed being in the office, having no separation between life and work was detrimental to their overall work-life balance.
However, due to the pandemic, a wider group took up the question of what the office should look like. Instead of taking the status quo as a given, a cultural conversation began about the most efficient way to work.
As we gained a more diverse perspective in these conversations, the goals shifted. Suddenly, it wasn’t about how to make more money or how to increase productivity. Instead, people focused on how to live more holistic and satisfying lives.
A strange phenomenon occurred: the great resignation. Turns out, people wanted better jobs. And — after a record high number of Americans quitting their jobs, employers have been forced to rethink how they treat their employees. Now, the workers have more power. And the notion of the office space is striving to accommodate them.
Innovative structural changes are being implemented to attract new employees. Better perks — not the ping pong tables of those start-up days of yore — such as increased benefits, more time off and competitive salaries are only the start.
According to the New York Times, the four-day workweek is “in our grasp.” The movement has been adopted by many companies across the country with staggering results. Adoptees cited an enhanced work-life balance, more focus, happier personal lives — not to forget increased productivity and a better work environment. A win-win for everyone.
If this sounds too good to be true, wait until you hear about the three-day work week, which could be next. Most companies are moving towards a remote-friendly atmosphere. They’re even normalizing remote work as part of the regular work day for most workers.
According to Barron’s: “The pandemic has also given a shot in the arm to innovation to support remote working. Working from home will increase from 5% of full-paid-days pre-pandemic to about 25% post-pandemic. This is generating a gold-rush of tech firms to generate the next killer app, product, or software to support working from home. We have seen some major innovations over the last 10 years, notably video-call applications like Zoom and Microsoft Teams, file-sharing software like Dropbox, and communications platforms like Slack. These products have revolutionized our pandemic experience of working from home.”
Barron’s also predicts that: “the next decade will see even more rapid change as firms pour billions of dollars into developing WFH friendly products. Whether this is virtual reality, AI guided cameras, or holographic projections, the experience of working from home will radically improve for those of us lucky enough to enjoy it. The pandemic is just the start of the working-from-home revolution.”
For now, as Omicron surges and many return to quarantining out of safety and full-time remote-work, we’re looking forward to a tech-evolution that’s no longer productivity-driven but people-driven.
Keep reading
Show less
- Demand for rides is way up with fewer drivers on the road
- Make more money during the hours you want
- Cash out your earnings at any time
- Read our full review below, or click here to apply to become a Lyft driver now
Summer 2021 is in full swing and life is getting back to normal. Between businesses reopening, and social calendars filling up, people need to get places again.
Demand for rides from ride-sharing apps has been way up recently, compared to where it was a few months ago, but drivers on the road are still down. If you've been looking for a way to make more money, now is time to take advantage of being a Lyft driver.
Why should you consider driving with Lyft? Besides the opportunity to be your own boss, you get to help out those in need of a ride these days. That means you only work the hours that work for you. Driving for Lyft is ideal if you need your schedule to be flexible. Plus, drivers in Detroit have been earning up to $36 per hour lately*, so you can feel confident that your time will be well spent.
Lyft also equips their drivers with the features they need to make the most amount of money in the least amount of time. Drive smarter with features that show you real-time maps of hotspots and demand forecasts, so you can always make sure you're in the right place at the right time. Demand for transportation has never been greater, so you won't be waiting for passengers for long.
Become A Lyft Driver In Detroit
Make Your Own Schedule
Earn Up To $36 Per Hour
Apply Now
Another great benefit when you drive for Lyft, there's no waiting for payday. They believe that your money should be available to you as soon as you earn it. You can cash out your earnings at any time using the Express Pay feature, no matter the amount (just pay the $0.50 transfer fee).
Dealing with COVID may make you unsure about getting started, but safety for both drivers and passengers is extremely important to Lyft. They prioritize safety, including making masks mandatory for both drivers and riders, and providing access to PPE as well as cleaning supplies with no markup from their online store. Even if you accept a ride, they give you the control to cancel or decline any ride you see fit.
Interested in getting started? Applying online takes as little as ten minutes. All you need to provide is:
- A valid driver's license
- Proof of insurance
- And a 4-door vehicle**
From there, Lyft will conduct a background check, and you'll be notified if your application has been approved. Once approved (which usually takes 48-72 hours), you can begin working as soon as you like.
If the only thing stopping you is not owning a car, then don't worry—you can rent one through Lyft's Express Drive program. There's no long-term contract, and you can keep your rental for as long as you need it.
Becoming a Lyft driver is a no-brainer right now. Demand is high and competition with other drivers is low, so the time to apply is now.
*Not a guarantee of future earnings.
**Requirements vary by region.
