The benefits of having pets at the workplace

Some offices in India that have adopted pet-friendly policies have seen how it has helped employee growth and happiness 

- Reem Khokhar

Over the past few years, Rajesh Vorkady has had additional co-workers who are not on-roll, including Zack, Zoey, Duke, Fae, and VenCAT. Their participation at the workplace has included looking cute, going for walks, sleeping during meetings, and occasionally gnawing on furniture. Vorkady is the chief executive and co-founder of Veeville, a Bengaluru-based integrated marketing communications company, where these four-leggeds come into work with their human parents.

"Our first office was a small room in someone's backyard. It wasn't uncommon to see cats, dogs, squirrels, butterflies, and birds hanging around," says Bengaluru-based Vorkady. "Over time they got comfortable with having us around and vice versa." The organization's journey since 2009 has included several animal rescues, adoptions, and lending support to animal welfare causes. And so, it seemed natural that when pet parents joined the team, they were allowed to bring them to work. As they expanded, the team was clear that a new office space should allow for the inclusion of their pets: a decision that Vorkady says continues to augur well for them. "It feels great and the pets help take the edge of everyday stress at work."