Pets at Work: Effects on Social Responsibility Perception and Organizational Commitment

Several studies have shown the positive effects of the presence of animals on humans at work, especially pets. It is increasingly common to find workplaces all over the world that provide this benefit, allowing employees to work with their pet beside them. These workplaces are called "pet friendly." These practices, in addition to the direct effects on employees, affect the company's image, showing positive effects in reducing absenteeism and increasing productivity. It is also expected that they impact the company's perception of social responsibility, and that this influences the attitudes of its employees. In view of this growing reality and its possible impact with regard to organizational behavior, this study aims to observe the effect that the presence of pets in the workplace has on the perception of the social responsibility of organizations and on the organizational commitment (OC) of employees. To this end, 177 participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions according to a unifactorial design. All participants received a descriptive scenario of practices adopted by an organization to improve employee performance and business success. The scenario varied according to the inclusion of animals versus noninclusion. The results show the positive effect of the presence of animals both in the perception of social responsibility and in employees' OC. This study leads us to conclude that animals are important in people's lives and as such have a positive impact on organizational life.