Nina Hale, a Minneapolis marketing company, recently instituted a new employee benefit: "fur-ternity leave." After a handful of employees asked to work from home for a few days after adopting a new pet (to which the company said, "Of course!") they decided to make the policy official. After all, said Allison McMenimen the company's vice president, "For a lot of people, their pets are their children [and] our employees are at all different stages of their lives."
This policy is a huge deal for pet owners or future pet owners who know that taking a week to help their new pet adjust to a new environment can be critical. Potty-training, socializing and adapting to a new home all become so much easier when the new owner is there by their pet's side to help them through the changes. Other companies have taken similar initiatives. A data company in New York called mParticle offers two-weeks paid time off to employees who adopt rescue dogs. Here's to a future where fur-ternity leave becomes corporate standard in every field!