Feature Article: FLEX TIME WITH A FISH? MEETINGS WITH A MUTT?
An Increasing Number of Pets Are Sharing Our Office Space, According to a New HON Survey
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
Betsy Hoye, Advertising & Public Relations Manager, 563.272.5690, HoyeB@honcompany.com
Jennifer Allanson or Kristi Stolarski, Robert Falls & Co. Public Relations, 216.696.0229, jallanson@robertfalls.com or kstolarski@robertfalls.com
Muscatine, IA – April, 2008 – Dogs and cats and fish, oh my! More than 63 percent of U.S. households own a pet today, which equates to 71.1 million homes and a whopping 382.2 million pets*. So with that many pets in our country, one company was drawn to ask…do we leave Fido at home to fend for himself while we’re away at the office? Or are we taking Jinx to the workplace these days?
The answer to this question is revealed in a recent consumer survey conducted on behalf of The HON Company, a leading designer and manufacturer of office furniture. The online survey of more than 600 consumers provided interesting insight into the ever-changing office environment.
According to the HON survey, 30 percent of employers permit their employees to bring pets to the office. Of those who actually bring their pets to work, the majority of Americans bring dogs (24 percent), followed by fish (12 percent) and cats (eight percent).
Dog Days In the Office
Visitors to The Warehouse Office Furniture Mart, a Cincinnati-based contract furnishing dealership that sells HON office furniture, can expect to be greeted by a couple of unusual “customer service representatives” when they enter the showroom. Jake and Woody, Labrador Retrievers owned by the company’s president, Jack Keane, can be seen daily at the dealership.
Since 2000, Keane has encouraged employees to bring in any well-behaved pet to spend the day in the company of the dealership’s staff and customers. He even encourages customers to bring their dogs along when they visit the showroom.
The affable…and quite mannerly…pair – often referred to as the “star customer relations team” – spend their days tethered on long leads in the 15,000-square-foot showroom’s office area. This arrangement allows them plenty of interaction with dog-loving customers but keeps them out of the way of the handful of those a little more canine-wary.
“We’ve had at least 95 percent positive feedback on Jake and Woody’s daily presence,” Keane said of the boys.
Keane’s business isn’t alone in cultivating a pet-friendly atmosphere. A recent search online at Simply Hired (www.simplyhired.com), an online job search engine, turned up 8,100 open jobs at pet-friendly companies, including natural candidates like PetSmart and IAMS Pet Food; but also big names as Google, Amazon.com and even Dartmouth College.
There are other benefits to having pets in the office – millions of Americans believe pets on the job lower absenteeism and encourage workers to get along, according to responses from both the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association and HON surveys.
Keane feels having Jake and Woody in the showroom actually helps build top-of-mind awareness for his business, too.
“People definitely remember our showroom,” he says. “It’s a great way to reach out to customers, especially dog lovers, and make ourselves stand out from the competition,” he added.
For more information on The HON Company, please visit www.HON.com.
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About The HON Company
The HON Company is a leader in the design and manufacturing of workplace furniture including chairs, storage, panel systems, tables and desks. Headquartered in Muscatine, Iowa, The HON Company has numerous manufacturing facilities strategically located throughout the United States, and markets its products through a nationwide network of dealers and retailers. The HON Company is an operating company of HNI Corporation (formerly HON INDUSTRIES). For more information, visit www.HON.com or www.HONthinksgreen.com.
About The Warehouse Office Furniture Mart
The Warehouse Office Furniture Mart has been serving Cincinnati-area customers since 1902. The company was originally known as The Polinsky Company and was located near the current site of The Great American Ballpark. The company, the area’s premier mid-market office furniture dealer, has been under current ownership since 1990. For more information, visit www.warehouseofficefurniture.com.
* According to the 2007-2008 National Pet Owners Survey from the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association