The Unsung Hero Support of WFH, Our Pets

A week ago, Friday was my 13 year-old Cattle Dog/Jack Russell mix, DaVinci’s time to go to doggo heaven.  He was a great flurry of tri-color energy, wrapped up in a small package.

                                    DaVinci at 4 Yrs Old

I adopted him from a rescue that has discovered him during a Meth lab bust in Colorado.  I liked to call him “My Little Crack-Puppy” and he was known for losing his little doggy mind around any animal that called to his prey drive, including horses and cows, (wouldn’t that have been a rude awakening for him if he’d gotten close to one?)

As much as we offer advice to those new to working from home, (WFH) we forget how important pets are, especially to helping to maintain our sanity during this unparalleled isolation of the pandemic.  I thought I would write a post about how important my four-legged home office workers are to my day and why they should be an important part of your own.

Stress Relief

Cats and dogs serve to keep us company, they give us affection and let us know we are important to them.  Their interaction with us decreases anxiety and helps distract us from the stresses of everyday life.  We might assume that these types of stress relief can only come from interacting with more advance animal life, such as dogs and cats, but even watching fish swim in an aquarium can decrease stress significantly.

There is a great summary of 69 studies that show 74% of those experiencing anxiety found a decrease after interacting with a pet. Interacting with animals has been shown to decrease levels of cortisol, a hormone related to stress and lower blood pressure.  Similar studies found that pets reduced loneliness, increased feelings of well-being and boosted the mood of those surveyed.

Gives us Breaks

Our pets need us to feed them and care for them, which for those of us who have worked from home for an extensive amount of time, is a great way to break up the day.  We may not have a  water cooler to take a break around, but we have a break from the workday for belly-rubs, feedings and such.

Many times, taking a break is part of mindfulness.  Dr. Ann Berger, a physician and researcher at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, who has been researching the connection between stress, pets and their owners, stated “The foundations of mindfulness include attention, intention, compassion, and awareness, all of those things are things that animals bring to the table. People kind of have to learn it. Animals do this innately.”  Where a person might ignore when their mind needs a break from a difficult task or when stress is getting the best of them, their pet might be more aware of their human’s stress and insist on attention, feeding or even a walk.

Exercise

For those who are new to working from home, you may have realized the dangers of having the pantry and fridge at your disposal during the workday.  Where some may find a benefit of no longer eating out, the loss in gym access may impact daily exercise and having a dog who can nudge you out for a walk or run can help to maintain a healthier lifestyle.

In 2015, a study was done in the UK, where 385 households were surveyed on physical activity and albeit high level, dog owners were 26% more likely to meet daily requirements for physical activity over those that didn’t own a dog.  A secondary finding, was that dog owners were found to be, on average, more successful professionally and earning higher salaries.  Although no correlation was able to be determined regarding pet ownership and not for the research subjects, my opinion was that it would make a very interesting study to determine if the mental health benefits of pet ownership extend to professional success.

Back to the subject of exercise- DaVinci, and our younger dog, Esme, used to go for 3-6 walks a day, (Esme has a lesser requirement of 3 walks a day).  I reach my daily exercise goal in two walks and I benefit from a break from my PC.  It allows me to step away from tasks, re-energize my commitment, improving my productivity in the end.  All of these needs, met by my pet and benefits to me as a worker, are part of WFH mindfulness.  I’ve always been conscious of self-care as part of deterring burn-out and for simple work satisfaction, but knowing that a pet can be part of the solution can provide value to those new to telecommuting.

This post was a recognition for all that our pets do for us and hopefully a realization of the value that they bring for those of us that work from home.  Please comment below and tell me about your WFH four-legged companion- I’d love to hear about him/her!