Annual Event
Do you know what the Friday following Father’s Day is? Officially, it is the ‘take your puppy to work day’!
When you work for Amazon, this perk is possible every day. After a corgi-charmer named Rufus first visited the offices, it caught on fast.
Several years ago, the renowned e-commerce giant posted a blog, yapping the praises of its dog-centric culture. Indeed, the Seattle headquarters staff share their workspace with pooches.
According to the post, at the business’ headquarters in Seattle, people share their workspace with pooches. The growing puppy population has one trailblazer to thank. Rufus, a Welsh corgi, came to the enormous downtown office with a husband-and-wife team. This friendly corgi won over every human worker he met. Clearly, this resonated with staff, and the puppy employee population grew!
A Real Contributor
Consequently, Rufus became a beloved mascot. His colleagues took to using his input to click on essential projects. Some of the earliest Amazon.com pages were launched by this puppy paw.
As the canine population grew, Rufus visage on the site’s error pages, along with a few other model pups — including Lucy the Labrador, Sherriff the golden-Aussie mix, and Martini the Papillon, followed his paw-prints. Additionally, Amazon has multiple images and photos of Rufus throughout the company’s 8.1 million-square-foot campus. The Rufus building was named for him!
Canine Culture Impact
Dogs in the workplace are a fantastic treat. Amazon is proud of this uniquely Amazonian tradition. It is part of the company culture and makes employees smile. Lara Hirschfield, Amazon’s ‘Woof Pack’ Manager love to share positive impacts. “Our employees love bringing their dogs to work and love meeting their co-workers.”
Above all, Amazon embraced a dog-friendly environment from day one. The dogs make work more fun and add to the workplace energy.
Amazon employees get catered daily lunches or enjoy happy hour Fridays. The puppies get a special perk of spending the day with their owner and doggie buddy socialization. Just like people, the canine co-workers find treats stocked at each reception desk in the headquarters buildings.
Better still is the 17th floor of the Doppler building. Here puppies find the doggie station, designated relief areas, and dog-friendly water fountains.
One of the extras added by popular requests is an off-the-leash park. This doggie park features a way for canine socializing. Indeed, the rocks and other structures in the playground are enjoyed by all.
As a result, increased in-office and after-work play dates cultivate employee camaraderie.
Giving Back
Furthermore, Amazon supports animal welfare. In addition to the dog-friendly campus, employees volunteer. One event had volunteers and retailers travel to support Ohana Animal Rescue in Tempe, Arizona. These crews clocked over 480 hours of work, completing their renovation wish list. They created new meet rooms, updated the medical exam room, and organized a 1,000 square-foot thrift store.
Not surprisingly, three volunteers became new pup parents. Their new pets enjoy their forever home and their forever company.
Amazon’s Dog Policy
In case you wondered, there are rules to bringing dogs to work.
- Employees need manager and officemate approval.
- Dogs must be up to date on their vaccinations, housebroken, and well-behaved.
- Dogs must be on a leash when employees take them around the campus but can be off-leash by their owner’s desk if there’s a doggy door.
- Employees cannot leave dogs alone in their workspaces.
- Employees with permission to bring their dogs must register them with Amazon.