During the past year, many US workers began telecommuting from home at least part of the time.  One animal behaviorist wanted to find out how having a dog or cat at home impacted the telework experience.

An online survey of dog owners, cat owners, dog and cat owners, and people with no pets was conducted, with a total of 454 participants.

The findings of this study were recently published in the journal Animals.  You can read the full text of the article HERE.

Below is a brief overview of the highlights of the pets and telework study, including both the benefits and the drawbacks.

• Dog owners were more likely to report that work life and personal life interfered with each other.
• Dog owners and people with children under 10 were the most likely to report being generally distracted during the workday.
• People with both dogs and cats were most likely to report that their pets specifically were a distraction, followed by those with only dogs, and lastly only cats.
• On the plus side, dog owners were also found to socialize and exercise more during the workday than non-dog owners, mostly because of regular dog walking.

The article notes that a pet’s impact on telework can be positive, negative, or neutral, depending on the individual situation.  While some pets could be a distraction, many people appreciated the increased amount of quality time spent with their pets.

For people who missed the social interactions of working in an office, having a dog gave them opportunities to socialize with others during the workday.  Dog owners were the most likely group to report taking a daily walk, which allowed them to go out and engage with others.

The author notes that future telework studies could look in more detail at certain characteristic of pets and owners, such as animal attention-seeking behaviors and owner personality and work environment needs.