Amazon says 7,000 dogs 'work' at Seattle headquarters
If you’re applying for a job at Amazon’s headquarters and you’re not a dog person, you may be barking up the wrong tree.
Amazon employees have registered more than 7,000 dogs to come to work at the company’s Seattle offices, the tech giant announced Friday. That’s up from 6,000 a year ago.
The number of dogs registered is so high, that the human-dog ratio would be just 7:1 if all the dogs came in on the same day. However, closer to 800 of the dogs actually come to work on any given day, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Studies have shown that having dogs in the workplace can raise productivity, increase employee collaboration and lower stress.
Lara Hirschfield, Amazon's “Woof Pack” manager, said the company has been dog-friendly "since Day 1."
“Having dogs in our workplace is an amazing treat. They make employees smile, and we’re proud this is such a uniquely Amazonian tradition. It’s truly ingrained in our company culture,” she described in an online statement. “Our employees love bringing their dogs to work and love meeting their co-workers’ dogs.”
Amazon has repeatedly been recognized as being welcoming for employees’ dogs. Rover, an online network for dog owners seeking walkers or sitters, named Amazon at the top of its list of the best dog-friendly companies earlier this month.
Amazon offers support for pet insurance and adoption. There’s even an off-leash dog park and "doggie deck" on campus. And as an added perk: dog owners can drop off their pets at a doggy day-care when they have to go to meetings, the Times says.
However, there are some ground rules dog owners must follow. Employees need a manager’s approval before bringing a dog to work. The pets must be up-to-date with their vaccinations and licenses. And of course, the dogs need to be house-trained.
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But accidents do happen.
In that case, employees can fill out an online ticket to have someone bag it up and take it away, according to the report. One employee told the Times they “have more coffee spills than we do dog accidents.”
Fox Business’ Kathleen Joyce and Heather Levin contributed to this report.
*This story has been updated to reflect Amazon’s pet policy, which does not include time-off.
