Sometimes the best co-workers are the ones who dribble on your feet, smell a little odd and are prone to giving themselves a noisy bath just as you answer the phone.

It is becoming more common for staff to be allowed to bring their pets to work – and businesses are being told it could pay off for them, too.

A recent study found US companies that allowed pets reported increased morale, reduced stress for employees, better work-life balance and more loyalty to the company.

Registered psychologist Sara Chatwin, from MindWorks, said there was evidence that showed the presence of pets was calming. “That’s why they have been introduced into some rest homes.”

READ MORE: Pets at work could boost productivity Pets and the city: The new breed of offices where animal magnetism is fur real

Jane Kennelly runs Frog Recruitment, an Auckland firm with a host of regular canine visitors. Her company is this week launching the New Zealand’s Top Office Dog competition for this year, run via Instagram.

Kennelly said having animals in the workplace helped reduce stress, lowered employees’ heart rates, lifted morale and boosted engagement. “It brings that enjoyment and levity to the workplace and ultimately increase productivity.”

She said job-seekers who discovered they were talking to an animal-friendly employer were usually pleased to hear it. Her company had not yet researched whether people would actively look for a workplace that would allow them to bring their pets.

Kennelly recently talked to businesses employing a collective 7000 people and found about half had a regular canine visitor to their offices.

Point-of-sale software firm Vend is one firm that allows pet visitors, as a reward to staff.

“What we do is hard, so if someone wants to take a break and play ping pong, make a coffee or play with one of the dogs or cats that come in, that’s great. It’s all part of being able to be yourself at work, which we find helps people do their best work,” communications director Simon Pound said.

He said there were usually be three or more animals in the office at any time. They were more of a happiness boost than a distraction, he said.

But there are some points to consider: If the company does not own the building it might need the green light from the landlord or leasing agent to allow animals. Employees might also need to sign a liability waiver for the company to hold them accountable for any legal situations that occurred.

Owners are being warned to make sure they have enough water bowls and litter trays ready for their four-legged staff members – and to take them for regular trips outside.

Pet food brand Purina is holding its annual Pets at Work Day on August 4.

UK business chiefs have warned MPs that a “generation” of firms could face collapse without further support, after piling up billion of pounds in debt during the pandemic.

Leaders in the UK’s hospitality, travel and retail sectors made a fresh plea for financial support measures and policy shifts at the Treasury Select Committee on Monday.

Mark Tanzer, chief executive of travel trade body Abta, told MPs at the committee that Government support has not been “adequate” for the impact of the pandemic on the UK travel sector.

He said: “The support measures that have been available have been appreciated, but at the margin and not adequate for the scale of the challenge the travel industry has faced and is facing.

“The summer season counts for two-thirds, we are in it, and no-one is travelling.

“The Government needs to recognise that the travel sector is in a class of its own regarding the pain it’s suffered really.

“And if we don’t have support through these critical weeks, I really do fear that we will be losing a generation of travel companies if we don’t act and get financial support to them now.”

It comes as thousands of UK tourists scramble back from Portugal before new coronavirus rules come into force.

Mr Tanzer said the Government’s decision to remove Portugal from the green travel list was a “real blow” and it sent a signal that “international travel is not going to come back as envisaged”.

He added that there is still discernible demand for travel from UK consumers, but said this has been stifled by obstacles and communication issues regarding requirements needed for foreign travel.

Meanwhile, Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, and Helen Dickinson chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC) told MPs at the select committee that the Government should extend the current rent moratorium.

The moratorium is set to end on June 30, paving the way for landlords to take action to reclaim rent arrears accrued during the pandemic.

Ms Nicholls said: “You are going to have long Covid for the economy if you are not very careful.

“We currently have £2.5 billion in historic rent debt which is going to fall in one hit on July 1, when the moratoriums end, so we urgently need those extending.

“We are two weeks away from the next quarter rent day, so we need that extended as a matter of urgency and we need the Government to work with us, lenders, landlords, to find a solution to this rent debt, so we don’t start tripping up businesses and causing insolvencies when we should be coming out of this crisis.”

Ms Dickinson added that the pandemic has accelerated the shift of retail firms further online and warned that the future of many stores could hang on changes to the moratorium and business rates.

“We’ve seen a closer relationship between physical and digital, but we’ve lost around 5,000 shops over 2020,” she said.

“Whether we lose more than we need to will depend on the moratorium decision, giving space to businesses which need to negotiate with landlords, and the business rates review.”

A delay to the planned lifting of lockdown on June 21 would “materially” hamper Britain’s economic recovery from the pandemic, a major business group has warned.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said the economy is in a “temporary sweet spot”, but there would be a big threat to the outlook from any Government move to push back the lockdown road map, as well as from rising inflation.

It cautioned this could derail the current rebound, which the BCC predicts will see the UK economy grow by 6.8% this year – the strongest since official records began.

The biggest spending surge since 1988 is set to help the UK economy recover from a 1.5% contraction in the first quarter to grow by 4.1% between April and June as lockdown restrictions lift, according to the group.

Pent-up demand from Britons with savings built up in lockdown is set to see the economy continue growing by 3.5% in the third quarter, before easing back to 1.1% in the final three months.

The BCC said this will be largely driven by a 5.5% rise in consumer spending in 2021 – the strongest for 33 years – while business investment will surge by 4.1%.

But it warned over the risks from inflation and ongoing restrictions.

The economic rebound will also be uneven across sectors and for different people, with the BCC adding that trade will suffer from post-Brexit disruption.

Suren Thiru, head of economics at the BCC, said: “The risks to the outlook are on the downside.

“A more significant surge in inflation would weigh on a consumer-led revival by eroding their spending power.

“The squeeze on activity and the damage to confidence from a marked delay to the full lifting of restrictions or further restrictions to combat Covid variants would materially slow the recovery.”

The BCC forecasts inflation – currently at 1.5% – will jump to a three-year high of 2.6% in the third quarter of 2021, but should ease back to the 2% target in the second quarter of next year.

The BCC also raised worries over youth unemployment, with job prospects for young people set to suffer the most from the pandemic.

While it forecasts the wider rate of unemployment to peak at 6% in 2021 thanks to furlough support, the BCC expects the youth unemployment rate to soar to 15.6% once the scheme ends.

Hannah Essex, co-executive director of the BCC, said: “Young people now entering the workforce and those who lost jobs during the pandemic are at particular risk of longer-term unemployment.

“As the economy emerges from the pandemic, we need to create a dynamic and flexible skills system that meets the needs of local employers and supports individuals looking to return to the jobs market.”

Representatives of owners of small businesses nationwide present the results of their association’s survey in front of Seoul Metropolitan Library on Monday. [NEWS1]

More than six out of 10 small business owners have experienced a drop in revenue exceeding 30 percent since the Covid-19 pandemic took off in Korea last January, according to an association of small business owners on Monday.

The survey was conducted by the Covid-19 Emergency Committee for Small Business Owners between Feb. 5 and March 25, relying on self-reported mobile phone responses from 1,545 independent business owners across the country.

The group presented their results at a press conference targeting the mayoral candidates in front of the Seoul Metropolitan Library, next to City Hall. Highlighting the survey responses, they urged that the next Seoul mayor craft a relief policy for small businesses.

Of the respondents, 95.6 percent, or 1,477 business owners, reported a decline in sales since the pandemic took hold in January, with revenue declining by 53.1 percent on average. Seventy-three percent of business owners reported at least a 30 percent decline in revenue or more.

Business owners in the Seoul metropolitan area reported a more pronounced decline in revenue than those outside, with small businesses in the capital region suffering an average revenue drop of 59.2 percent compared to an average 43.7 percent decline in sales for businesses in other regions.

Of the respondents, 89.8 percent, or 1,387 people, said that disease control policies restricting gathering sizes and service hours had affected their businesses.

Debt rose for 81.4 percent of the respondents, with the average increase in debt hovering at 51 million won ($450,000). The average number of employees on their payrolls declined from 4 before the pandemic to 2.1 after.

Forty-four percent of survey respondents said they were considering closing shop altogether. Of those considering shuttering their business, 49.3 percent said they were thinking of doing so anywhere from within six months to a year from now.

The association argued that government relief for businesses was urgently needed, saying that should the pandemic continue for a year, over half of small businesses would find it difficult to survive.

“Compensation [for small business owners] must be organized within the means of the country’s finances,” the association said. “We also ask that mayoral candidates in the upcoming by-election speedily create new social distancing measures and support a disease control campaign premised on individual freedom and responsibility.”

The group said they submitted the survey to candidates in the Seoul mayoral by-election as part of the association’s policy proposal.

BY MICHAEL LEE   [[email protected]]