61–69 of 69 posts
I'm all for freedoms until they infringe on the freedoms of others. You shouldn't have to go to work in a place where you don't feel comfortable. Raise the issue. Any responsible and reasonable employer would either nix the policy or find a way to accommodate your situation in some way.
I'm all for freedoms until they infringe on the freedoms of others. You shouldn't have to go to work in a place where you don't feel comfortable. Raise the issue. Any responsible and reasonable employer would either nix the policy or find a way to accommodate your situation in some way.
I'm uncomfortable around (and supremely irritated by) human babies, but it's pretty common to let people bring their awful babies into an office. Those babies don't work here, and they have no business being here, but I guess human parents feel they have some legitimate reason to bring them to work. In a fair world, I don't see how dogs are any different.
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Having worked two places where this was possible, there's a number of advantages. Everyone in the office became a fan of the mutt, and I had lots of volunteers for lunchtime walks! Including the lady who was wary of German Shepherds at the start, who ended up curing her phobia "Oh it's only him, he's harmless". He'd sleep near the desk until someone came over to talk to him, and as a result I wasn't clock watching qu…
I work in an office with a dog. I detest it, the dog distracts me constantly with barking and such. I genuinely believe that the dog has a negative financial effect on the company - I'd be much more productive without it, and productivity is $$$. However, I would never say anything, as this could lead to me being ostracized as a non-"team-player". Something to keep in mind when all feedback on an element workplace en…
Obviously I can't know if anyone was quietly against, but the woman who said she was wary because of breed was a quick convert. If she hadn't been he'd have stayed home and spend the day on the sofa - as he had in my previous job.
In the past, I have generally disliked pets. However, my wife really wants a dog. So over the years I've grown to dislike them less and less, to the point where they now generally make me smile.
They might make you uncomfortable now, but it doesn't have to be that way if you try.
(Oh, and by the way, I'm incredibly allergic to dogs and cats. But I get around this by washing my hands after touching them. I've also been told that there are shots you can get that will cure pet allergies such as these.)
I'm all for freedoms until they infringe on the freedoms of others. You shouldn't have to go to work in a place where you don't feel comfortable. Raise the issue. Any responsible and reasonable employer would either nix the policy or find a way to accommodate your situation in some way.
I'm uncomfortable around (and supremely irritated by) human babies, but it's pretty common to let people bring their awful babies into an office. Those babies don't work here, and they have no business being here, but I guess human parents feel they have some legitimate reason to bring them to work. In a fair world, I don't see how dogs are any different.
2) Get this book, or one like it (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0195311353/) CBT is a powerful way to rewire your brain, so "dog = fear" will be a thing of the past in a few weeks of practice.
There probably isn't a safer place to practice exposures since people don't bring unfriendly dogs to work, and you can see the dogs interact with people before you practice exposure and pick ones that are smaller/friendlier/calmer/safer-feeling to start with.
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I'm uncomfortable around (and supremely irritated by) human babies, but it's pretty common to let people bring their awful babies into an office. Those babies don't work here, and they have no business being here, but I guess human parents feel they have some legitimate reason to bring them to work. In a fair world, I don't see how dogs are any different.
They bring them to work, set them in a bouncer, and then proceed to work the entire day while the baby is there? The most I've ever seen is a few minutes of someone bring in their child to show some co-workers before after heading out to lunch or home. If someone is bringing their baby in while they are working for the whole day, I think it would be reasonable to ask them to find child care options.
At a large company I was interviewing at they showed us an open-floor office for employees whose babysitter was missing on that day (or a sick spouse or whatever).
The employees could just grab their laptop, and take a desk in that office for a day.
In front of all the desks was a glass wall. Behind it a kindergarten, so that the parents could see their child and the children were occupied.
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We have a dog policy at my work but you have to house the pet in a specified meeting room and only move it when in transit to walk the dog or leave. That also means that there's generally a limit of one dog at a time. We also had someone who loved dogs but was deathly allergic. Like everyone said, talk to HR. They will figure something out.
Thanks, sounds like just bringing it up would be fine (and hopefully doesn't end up labling me a dog hater!). The whole pets policy seems crazy to me, what's to stop me bringing my SO to work because I enjoy her company. Do you think it's just convenient for the owner, or is there something behind letting people bring pets to work?
As an example, we just moved from Vancouver BC to Oslo. There are no direct flights between these two cities. To minimize the shock to our dog, we flew in to Amsterdam and spent two days on the train to get to Oslo. We both whole-heartedly felt it was the right decision every minute of the long journey because neither of us want to see him as distraught as he was that day.
We rescued him within 30 days of me going out on my own to freelance in 2011. Despite many concerted efforts of curbing his separation anxiety, he can't go 30 seconds alone without howling his sadness. Given that, every career decision I've made since has gone through the lens of 'What about Charlie?' I understood what I was in for when we got him, and it has certainly introduced limitations to the work I'm able to pursue, but we wouldn't go back on that initial decision.
I've had long running contracts where he was welcome on site. This was the difference between me being able to take the work and me turning it down.
In my biased opinion, quiet and well behaved dogs can co-exist in a productive office. If a pro-dog policy facilitates talent acquisition, in-person communication, and doesn't disrupt anybody - it's a net positive. If the dog is a misbehaving little brat, that's a different story.