This from the Humane Society.

“Dogs in the workplace, in general, make people happier. And less stressed. And more productive.”

Then again, the Humane Society would say that. The folks at the Humane Society would say having a dog under your desk improves Internet connectivity if they thought it would help improve human/dog connectivity. On the other paw, institutional bias doesn’t mean it’s not true, and there are lots of folks who swear by the amazing and beneficial properties of the increasingly common “office dog.” Having pups about the place boosts morale, increases efficiency and encourages employee interaction, they say. Pet-friendly policies enhance employee concentration and decrease absenteeism. Allowing dogs in the workplace aids recruitment and improves retention. It’s quite remarkable, really, the way letting people bring their pets to work can turn a bitter, disorganized and dysfunctional shop into a model of peaceful profitability.

Unless it isn’t.

The movement toward pet-friendly workplaces became official in 1996 when Pet Sitters International staged the first Take Your Dog to Work Day in Britain. The group’s Yankee branch followed suit in 1999, and the one-day experiment has been lapping up calendar pages ever since.

About 39 percent of American households contain one or more dog, and about 7 percent of American businesses allow one or more dogs on the premises, up from 5 percent in 2010. Approximately 5 percent of pet owners report bringing their dog to work “regularly”, another 7 percent said they do so “sometimes” and a more pet-independent 4 percent “rarely” share their cubicle with their canine. Together, the 16 percent of dog-owners currently taking advantage of their dog-friendly work environments comprise something like 6 percent of the workforce. And while that fraction is clearly fine with having Fido underfoot, reviews from the remaining 94 percent are, um, mixed.

According to a national marketing survey, where 34 percent of non-dog-bringers think they might be “happier” with dogs in the workplace, 63 percent are concerned the animals present stress-inducing “health and safety issues.” And while 25 percent believe dog-friendly policies “improve productivity”, a full 69 percent predict only productivity-sapping “distractions.” If recent studies are to be believed, they’re all right.

True, dogs in the workplace can improve employee morale, but mostly for those employees bringing their dogs to work. Noting that many dog-owners feel “guilty” and “worried” about leaving their pets home alone, a recent university study found that most experienced an 11 percent decrease in stress when allowed to bring their pet to the office and a 70 percent increase in stress when not.  And while statistics suggest that dog-owners are, indeed, more likely to accept and retain jobs in dog-friendly workplaces, it’s harder to say how many promising prospects are lost to such policies because studies on the pet-policy preferences of dog-less applicants are in short supply.  

It’s also true that dog-friendly policies can increase productivity by decreasing long lunches taken by employees rushing home to check on their dogs, and eliminating personal days taken for veterinary visits or to stay home with sick animals. But several companies experimenting with pup-pleasing programs have reported significant and expensive inefficiencies resulting from work-time lost to dog-feeding, dog-walking, dog-wrangling and general dog-tending.

Of “health and safety issues,” only about 10 percent of dog-owners “regularly” or “sometimes” bringing their dog to work say they would leave the animal home if it was sick or injured. Of the 4 percent “rarely” bringing their pets to the office, many say they take that step precisely because the animal is sick or injured. Thing is, animal behavioral specialists agree that a sick or injured dog is also a nervous dog, and that a nervous dog is far more likely to bite the friendly hand that pets it. What’s more, there are several diseases that move easily from dog to human, among them dog tapeworm, hookworm, roundworm and brucellosis. While the chances of cross-infection aren’t especially high, concern about the possibility is not without foundation.

The single greatest health question facing dogs in the workplace is purely allergic. About 7 percent of the human population is allergic to dogs, enough that dog allergy is recognized as a legal disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. And no, there’s no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog, and short-haired pups aren’t less sneeze-inducing than the shaggier breeds. Also covered by the ADA is cynophobia, a fear of dogs shared to some degree by more than 30 percent of those Americans seeking treatment for an anxiety disorder.

If many dog owners dismiss apprehension about dog bites, dog diseases, dog dander and dog phobias in relation to their own well-tempered, well-immunized, well-scrubbed and, well-favored pets, business owners probably shouldn’t. Employee lawsuits stemming from dog bites, dog-allergies and dog phobias are increasingly common, increasingly successful, and can result in ADA penalties up to $75,000 for a first offense. On advice of their attorneys, many businesses have ultimately rescinded their dog-friendly policies, while others have sought to limit their liability by designating dog-friendly days, establishing dog-free zones and limiting the number of dogs allowed on-site at any given time. In a cautious spirit of accommodation, many employers now require employees determined to bring their dogs to work to first either sign an indemnification agreement taking the company completely off the hook, or privately purchase insurance covering any injuries, discomfitures or legal expenses incurred in the event their mutt misbehaves on company time.

There’s no question that dogs are great. They’re smart and loyal and loving and brave. They’re Man’s best friend. And yet something over 80 percent of the clock-punching public would rather not see dogs in the workplace. So why do they? Call it the Muzzle Effect.

“Many dog owners are very vigorous in support of pet-friendly workplace policies,” reads a report from the human resources firm EMSYS. “Co-workers opposed to such policies rarely voice their objections for fear of being labeled ‘anti-dog.’”