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The problems SparkFun has letting people bring dogs into work

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Re: The problems SparkFun has letting people bring dogs into work

#31

Post by levosmetalo »

If someone tried to bring dog to my office, next thing I will do would be to ask permission to work from home. If that doesn't work, I'd look up for another job. If that doesn't work, I'd buy rats and cocroaches, and bring them to work with me as "pets". But, there's no way I'm going to sit in the office full of "nice dogs" and pretend that doesn't affect me.

EDIT: Just to clarify, I am not allergic to dogs and yes, I don't like pets, but I also don't mind having dog or a cat around when sitting in friends house. But, I just don't feel safe in a presence of dogs, and there's no way I would be able to do anything useful the whole day except watching over my shoulders to make sure the beast is not somewhere near me. Whoever wants to impose that kind of feelings to me is making me bad, regardless of his intentions.

Re: The problems SparkFun has letting people bring dogs into work

#32

Post by ama729 »

userbinator wrote: post #5
epaga wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone allergic to dogs I was wondering exactly the same thing. I assume this simply makes it impossible to work there if you have a dog allergy since (even with an isolated office) any contact with coworkers who are around dogs all day would be enough to get my eyes itching and my nose running pretty badly. Edit: Note that I don't think this is necessarily bad - not having people allergic to dogs be able to join…

I'm also allergic to dogs (and cats), and so policies like these would just make me go somewhere else. I don't particularly understand what advantage there is in bringing a dog to work anyway... yes, you probably love your pets but the same goes for children, that doesn't mean they should be with you when you work.

> yes, you probably love your pets but the same goes for children, that doesn't mean they should be with you when you work.

Well, it's actually not that uncommon to have an office kindergarten (at least in the part of Europe I live in, no idea how it is in the US), for some people, it's a big perk, as it allow people that would otherwise have to choose between an office life and a family life to have both.

Re: The problems SparkFun has letting people bring dogs into work

#33

Post by shiven »

jbb555 wrote: post #23
yetfeo wrote: post #2

How do dog friendly work places deal with employees that are allergic to dogs?

I'm not allergic to dogs I just hate them. This is totally unacceptable behavour by an employer. If this is true I'd want nothing further to do with that company.

If this is true I'd want nothing further to do with that company.

Good for you! And good for the company too, now they can hire someone else in your place who is fine with dogs.

Re: The problems SparkFun has letting people bring dogs into work

#34

Post by ama729 »

timjahn wrote: post #12
pawelkomarnicki wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you like to be left alone without a toilet for like 10-11 hours a day, 5-days-a-week? Then you know why some people insist on taking their dog to the office ;)

Seems silly to have a dog if you're just going to leave it at home for 10-11 hours a day, 5 days a week.

Honest question, would you feel the same way if you replace dog by baby in your sentence?

Edit: Hopefully, "at home" would then mean "at the daycare", otherwise it's a bit irresponsible...

Re: The problems SparkFun has letting people bring dogs into work

#35

Post by yen223 »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #18
jstsch wrote: post #13

I really love dogs, but this is just nuts. Pets belong at home, not at work. A dog tribunal? Talk about a waste of company time. I understand that in certain companies (with sky-high margins or money to burn) the line between work and play gets blurred more and more, but that's in stark contrast to the rest of the economy. I can understand that certain people outside of tech (who are struggling) are starting to get a…

> I understand that in certain companies (with sky-high margins or money to burn) the line between work and play gets blurred more and more, but that's in stark contrast to the rest of the economy. I think that the blurring of the line between work and play is a Good Thing in some sectors, namely engineering/tech/creative jobs. Creativity comes out of playtime, not worktime.

I think the blurring of the line is good for all sectors. Let's not assume that people who aren't in tech somehow don't deserve to have the same perks.

Re: The problems SparkFun has letting people bring dogs into work

#37

Post by shiven »

levosmetalo wrote: post #31

If someone tried to bring dog to my office, next thing I will do would be to ask permission to work from home. If that doesn't work, I'd look up for another job. If that doesn't work, I'd buy rats and cocroaches, and bring them to work with me as "pets". But, there's no way I'm going to sit in the office full of "nice dogs" and pretend that doesn't affect me. EDIT: Just to clarify, I am not allergic to dogs and yes,…

Yay! for workplace pet equality. Just like everything else work-related, dog lovers (I'm one) should not be disproportianately favored over gecko/spider/snake loving peeps.

Also, let the inter-species pet wars begin ... right in the darn office. I'll get the popcorn.

Re: The problems SparkFun has letting people bring dogs into work

#38

Post by TeMPOraL »

yen223 wrote: post #35
TeMPOraL wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I understand that in certain companies (with sky-high margins or money to burn) the line between work and play gets blurred more and more, but that's in stark contrast to the rest of the economy. I think that the blurring of the line between work and play is a Good Thing in some sectors, namely engineering/tech/creative jobs. Creativity comes out of playtime, not worktime.

I think the blurring of the line is good for all sectors. Let's not assume that people who aren't in tech somehow don't deserve to have the same perks.

Maybe, but I'm not thinking about deserving and making workers feel good; though I'm all for it in every industry, in some this is a requirement rather than perk. You can treat people like slaves (and many do) in grocery stores or internet bookshops with little negative impact on productivity or profitability, but I wouldn't want to see or use code written by people in similar conditions.

Re: The problems SparkFun has letting people bring dogs into work

#39

Post by qwerta »

levosmetalo wrote: post #31

If someone tried to bring dog to my office, next thing I will do would be to ask permission to work from home. If that doesn't work, I'd look up for another job. If that doesn't work, I'd buy rats and cocroaches, and bring them to work with me as "pets". But, there's no way I'm going to sit in the office full of "nice dogs" and pretend that doesn't affect me. EDIT: Just to clarify, I am not allergic to dogs and yes,…

How about 20 feet python? I am sure it loves dogs... :-)

Re: The problems SparkFun has letting people bring dogs into work

#40

Post by yardie »

yen223 wrote: post #35
TeMPOraL wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I understand that in certain companies (with sky-high margins or money to burn) the line between work and play gets blurred more and more, but that's in stark contrast to the rest of the economy. I think that the blurring of the line between work and play is a Good Thing in some sectors, namely engineering/tech/creative jobs. Creativity comes out of playtime, not worktime.

I think the blurring of the line is good for all sectors. Let's not assume that people who aren't in tech somehow don't deserve to have the same perks.

Except in the medical field. I draw the line at seeing a dog, except for aid, walking around a clinic. People are disgusting enough as it is, complicating it with canine/feline borne vectors doesn't help.
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