Benefits of Having a Cat in the Workplace (7 Reasons You Need One!)

If you’ve ever worked from home, you know how nice it is to share your office space with your cat. They provide you with company and are usually perfectly content to sleep by your desk or in your lap. Although cats aren’t as physically demanding as dogs, they still thrive on attention and can suffer if you’re away from home working long hours several days a week. Since including cats in the workspace seems to be a mutually beneficial arrangement for humans and felines, you might wonder why more places of business don’t allow you to bring your furry coworker. We agree with you and propose seven reasons why they should, as well as acknowledge a few practical concerns.

The 7 Reasons Why Your Workplace Needs a Cat

1. Office Cats Can Be Rescued

An office cat may be a personal cat who comes to work with an employee or an official office cat who considers their workspace as their permanent residence. Office employees could come together and rescue a cat from a shelter, and then divide its expenses among the members. Their efforts would not only save a life, but would also promote team building, a vital component of a healthy workspace.

2. Pest Control

As an extra perk to corporately sponsoring an office cat, or allowing employees’ cats at work, the space receives free pest control service. Believe us, the price of cat food and litter doesn’t compare to calling the exterminator on a regular basis.

3. Facilitate Friendly Discussions

Cats are good conversation starters. Sharing the responsibility and fun of a feline can invite discussion on a mutual interest, which can help build workplace connections and create a warm environment.

4. Bring in Customers

If your place of business relies on customers such as shoppers, allowing cats at work can give animal lovers an excuse to come and say. They just might buy one of your products or hire a service while they’re visiting.

5. Reduce Stress

Did you know that taking a quick ten-minute break to pet a cat can reduce your cortisol levels? More pets = less stress.

6. Prevent Burnout

If employees are allowed to take small breaks to visit the cat, they’ll likely return to their task feeling refreshed. After all, petting cats is a healthier break choice than heading to the vending machine. Cats can also create a fun environment that improves employee retention. It’s hard to dread coming into the office when there’s a cool cat who lives there, or you’re allowed to bring your own.

7. Boosts Morale

During the pandemic, we all experienced the wonders of spending more time at home. While not all jobs are able to be completed remotely, it would boost our spirits if we could at least bring our cats into the office. After all, we’re not the only ones who became accustomed to working from home and they’d miss us if we suddenly abandoned them for 40+ hours a week.

Why Don’t More Businesses Allow Cats?

In a perfect world, every business would welcome cats. However, there are some very real practical reasons why it isn’t always easy or even possible to include our feline friends. Some jobs, such as hospital and restaurant work, can’t allow cats because of health codes and sanitary purposes.

Other workplaces might not have legal reasons keeping them from removing pet restrictions but may be concerned with how other issues would have to be addressed. For example, how do you allow cats when someone in the building is allergic or even simply afraid of them? A cat-friendly policy would have to address what to do if someone were hired who doesn’t tolerate cats. There would also have to be rules about where the cat could hang out, and what would happen if the cat became too disruptive.

Conclusion

We dream of the day when we can bring our cats to work with us outside the home. Until we can convince our employers, we’ll have to content ourselves with cuddles at home. If you work remotely, lucky you! You have the luxury of spending every day all day with your cat. If you are the employer, you likely have more of a say whether you can allow cats in the office, as long as it doesn’t violate health codes or renters’ agreements. Cats are fairly chill pets that can create a fun and calming office environment. We think that they’re an office staple to increase productivity and may give customers (and employees) another reason to keep coming back.

See also: 8 Jobs That Cats Can Do (With Pictures)

Featured Image Credit: Ga, Unsplash