WASHINGTON — There’s Lily, the chief executive’s dog, who clocks in 60 hours a week in a corner office; Miles, a 9-pound charmer who recently received a company award; and Harriet, a springer spaniel mix who almost always falls asleep in meetings.
For years, all three have accompanied their owners to work at the Humane Society of the United States.
They are among 150 dogs — and occasionally rats, ferrets, guinea pigs and rabbits — that are regular fixtures at the organization’s Gaithersburg, Md., and District of Columbia offices.
This summer, the canines, along with their keepers, will move into a new headquarters in downtown Washington, complete with built-in pet gates in every cubicle and doggy-bathroom facilities in the parking garage.
But their journey into a multitenant office building hasn’t been an easy one. Even as dog-friendly workplaces grow more commonplace in the U.S. — 8 percent of companies allow pets at work, according to one recent survey — finding commercial landlords willing to accommodate them has remained difficult.
“This is still very much uncharted territory,” said Paul Graham, senior vice president of Colliers International, the commercial real estate firm that negotiated the lease on behalf of the Humane Society. “So many landlords were hesitant. About 20 of them flat-out said, ‘No.’ “
Wayne Pacelle, the Humane Society’s chief executive, brings his
beagle mix to work most mornings. He began allowing pets at work about 10 years ago. Since then, he says employee morale and productivity have improved.
“It saves employees the stress of leaving a dog alone for eight, nine, 10 hours a day,” Pacelle said. “People are much more willing to stay late if they’re not worried that their dog is at home hungry and waiting.”
Roughly two-thirds of the organization’s employees bring their dogs to work. The new headquarters will have an extensive air filtration system to accommodate workers with allergies, and a separate entrance and freight elevator dedicated to the transport of dogs.
The number of dog-friendly workplaces has grown in recent years as companies look to attract 20- and 30-sometings with a lineup of quirky perks and flexible work arrangements. Amazon allows pets in its Seattle headquarters, as do Google, Clif Bar and Bissell.
Nationally, roughly 8 percent of companies allow pets at work, up from 5 percent in 2013, according to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management.
“It is a hyper-competitive market where every landlord is adding a new fitness center, a rooftop plaza or a tenant-only conference facility just to compete with other landlords,” Graham said. “Now, (allowing pets) is a real separator for landlords to attract tenants, and for tenants to attract workers.”
