Pet-friendly practices in companies' strategy: A look from the perspective of managers and employees

Abstract

The representation of companion animals has been growing over the years. The impact of pets on the well being of employees has also been the subject of debate in research. This research had two goals: (1) to analyze the managers' perceptions about pet-friendly practices and their main effects, and (2) to analyze the impact of pet friendly practices on employees’ well being and work engagement Relying on the social exchange perspective and the self determination theory, it was hypothesized that pet friendly practices would positively influence employees’ well being and work engagement via the satisfaction of their three basic needs (autonomy, competence and relatedness). To attain the goals, two studies with mixed methods were conducted. The first was a qualitative study that resorted to semi structured interviews to 6 managers. The second study was quantitative and resorted to a large sample of workers (N = 378). The first study demonstrated the main advantages and disadvantages of pet-friendly practices, as well as all the obstacles, limitations and how they could be overcome from managers’ perspective. Further, managers showed interest and enthusiasm for the topic, but also emphasized some doubts in the implementation of a pet-friendly strategy, since there are few studies demonstrating their benefits. The second study showed that pet friendly practices had a positive impact on employees work engagement and well-being through the satisfaction of competence autonomy and relatedness needs. Portugal is considered a country with a conservative society, which hinders the dissemination and implementation of measures. Several recommendations are suggested to overcome the mentioned obstacles. Increasing awareness and discussion of the topic is a crucial point for future evolutions regarding pet-friendly practices.