• by Tanya Gazdik , June 14, 2019

A study by Nationwide Insurance shows that pet-friendly companies do a better job of attracting and retaining employees, especially millennials.

When viewed across generations, millennials are far more likely than their Generation X and baby boomer counterparts to value a pet-friendly work environment.

"In consideration that millennials are both the largest generation in the U.S. workforce and the largest generation of pet owners, it is paramount that employers consider adding pet-friendly perks such as allowing pets in the workplace or offering pet health insurance as a voluntary employee benefit,” states Anthony Sharett, president of Nationwide's pet insurance business.

A study conducted by Nationwide in partnership with the Human Animal Bond Research Institute reveals that more than three times as many employees at pet-friendly workplaces report a positive working relationship with their boss and co-workers, significantly more than those in non-pet-friendly environments. Moreover, these employees are more likely to stay with a company long term.

Furthermore, 90% of employees in pet-friendly workplaces feel highly connected to their company's mission, fully engaged with their work, and willing to recommend their employer to others. In contrast, less than 65% of employees in non-pet-friendly workplaces made the same claims.

A pet-friendly workplace is defined in the study as one that allows pets in the workplace (regularly or occasionally) and/or offers a pet-friendly employee benefit, such as pet health insurance.

Nationwide, which provides pet insurance along with its more traditional human-oriented policies, found that half of the Fortune 500 and more than 7,500 U.S. companies offer its pet health insurance as a voluntary employee benefit.

More than 2,000 U.S. full-time employees who spend a majority of their time working in an office environment with businesses that have 100+ employees responded to the 20-minute online survey, which was conducted by Lieberman Research Worldwide.