Three-quarters of pet owners say productivity at work negatively affected by sick animal at home
While nearly all (96%) parents would feel comfortable requesting time off to care for their sick child, this figure drops by a third (to 63%) when it comes to asking an employer for leave to care for a sick pet.
Overall, 67% of Aussie pet owners believe their employer would decline them sick or personal leave to care for their unwell pet, finds a survey.
“Our pets are treated like family and they enrich the lives of millions of Australians. Now is the time to make a nationwide change and give pet owners the opportunity to care for their four-legged family members as they’re able to for any other family member,” said Sophie Anning, corporate affairs director at Mars Petcare, which is advocating for a “Pet Care Leave” certificate provided by vets for pet owners who require time away from.
The survey found 72% of workers would want this type of leave to be included in their employee leave benefits.
Also, 77% of all Australian pet parents said their productivity at work is negatively affected by having a sick pet at home, and 55% say they would lie to their employer to stay home and care for an unwell pet.
And 98% of pet parents would consider their pets to be a member of their family, according to numbers from Mars Petcare’s survey of 1,000 pet owners in Australia conducted in November.
Some employers already offer “pawternity leave” to bond with a new pet and pet bereavement leave.
Pros and cons to leave
There are pros and cons when it comes to providing pet-related benefits to workers, according to Chris Brennan, performance specialist at HR solutions provider Insperity.
“Giving someone time to bond with their new puppy or to grieve at home after the passing of their 15-year-old cat can improve productivity and cultivate loyalty. After all, employees appreciate it when management shows concern for their well-being,” he said.
However, the most obvious drawback to offering pet-related benefits is that, by definition, they’re not applied equally to all employees.
“For instance, if only half of your workforce owns pets, that means the other half doesn’t own pets and therefore won’t qualify for the extra time off or flexibility to work from home,” he said. “While most people are likely to be sympathetic to any sort of bereavement, fellow employees may resent having to pick up extra work to cover for a coworker’s absences due to pet care issues.”
