Averill Electric Makes their Headquarters Pet Friendly

If you were to have a meeting with Frank Averill at his Easton headquarters, you would drive up to the building that had the Averill Electric sign on its building, park, check in with the front office, and wait for Frank to come down to greet you.

But recently, many visitors are receiving greetings from Cinnamon, Roscoe, Koda and Coco. Yes, strange names for people- because they are not people, they are the dogs of Averill Electric! These furry pups are the dogs of the employees of Averill Electric and contractors that work with Frank. Averill Electric has unofficially updated its policies to allow employees to bring their dogs to work, and it has had a positive effect on the owners, the pups, the other employees, and the overall culture of the company.

Except for an occasional puddle that has to be cleaned up, the dogs bring warmth, fun, and great energy to the employees. People taking a break can come down to get a warm cuddle from the dogs, or they can get an enthusiastic greeting in the morning as they come into work, or they have a lick-filled run-in with one of the dogs on their way to the drafting room.

Realizing that dogs are an essential part of the make-up of families and historically have had a lot of research backing up the health benefits of owning dogs, Frank decided to look into allowing pets in the workplace.

Over 8% of the workplaces in the U.S. allow dogs to join their owners in the office, according to the Society of Human Resource Management, and this trend is going up. It all started with Averill Electric joining the small group of companies allowing dogs to come to the office when Frank realized his employees had to make difficult decisions leaving their new puppies and dogs at home. Wondering how the dog was doing all alone was enough to create stress and negative emotions that warranted Frank asking if there was a better way.

As an innovator at heart, Frank has created many new processes that have changed the foundations of the electrical contracting industry in the last 25 years. His question starts out with “What if there was a better way”. And he asked this same question when talking to employees that would run back and forth to check on their puppies throughout their lunch breaks. The better way was to have them bring their puppies and dogs to work and create a pet-friendly environment that allowed its employees to work more efficiently and be more at ease knowing their dogs were sleeping soundly next to their chairs in their offices.

There are some basic advantages of bringing dogs to work, mainly:

∙ Office dogs help reduce employee stress. …

∙ Dogs boost office morale. …

∙ Dog-friendly workplaces promote productivity. …

∙ Office pups help improve communication. …

∙ Dogs encourage a healthier lifestyle in the office. …

∙ Dog-friendly offices improve employee retention. …

∙ Dog-friendly workplaces appear more attractive to prospective employees.

∙ Office dogs get socialized, rather than being left home alone.

∙ Pets in the workplace benefit work-life balance. …

∙ Pets in the workplace nurture productivity. …

After researching the benefits of having dogs at the workplace, and listening to the employees and their concerns for their furry family members, Frank Averill decided to welcome the pups to Averill Electric and create yet another industry trend.

The employees are happy. Dog lovers are happy. The pups are super happy. And those that are not dog lovers are happy in their private offices with the door closed!