MINNEAPOLIS (WSVN) — A Minnesota company is giving its employee the chance to work flexible hours from home in order to care for their new pets.
According to the Star Tribune, Minneapolis digital marketing company Nina Hale has introduced a policy that allows its employees who have just gotten new pets to work from home for a week.
The company is calling it “fur-ternity leave.”
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The policy was inspired by senior accounts manager Connor McCarthy after he adopted a goldendoodle named Bentley. McCarthy says he wanted to be there for the pooch as he settled into his new home.
“I reached out to my direct supervisor … and the lead in our team, and just mentioned that I was getting a puppy,” he told Minnesota Public Radio. “So I just discussed if there was any way that we could have adjustments to my schedule … to allow me to at least be with the puppy while still working.”
McCarthy told the Star Tribune that the first few days after getting the puppy were crucial for potty training and getting Bentley accustomed to his new home.
“It certainly impacts your schedule, and it certainly impacts what’s going on at home, so having that flexibility with Bentley was crucial,” he said.
Executive vice president for client services Allison McMenimen said the policy is a way to give back to their hardworking staff.
“We realized that we had received these requests a couple of times, and we thought, for so many of our hardworking, dedicated employees, there’s an opportunity for us to reciprocate their dedication and give them additional flexibility when they’re making a major life change,” she said. “And in this case, instead of a human baby, it’s a fur baby.”
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