Working like a Dog

A Point of View

David H. Fauss, M.S.M.

On October 8, 2015

Category: Employment, Getting the Job Done, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Work-Life

Recently I posted about our star employee. She came to us as an “employee with benefits.” The benefit is her best buddy, Willy the Schnoodle. Our office environment is casual, but we have never had an office pet. We thought we’d try it. Willy keeps his own schedule; he does not work 40 hour weeks. And when he is here, he doesn’t work a full 8 hour day because there are lots of naps involved for him, while we are working (to make sure he has dog food to eat). But, it brightens our day when he is here, brimming with enthusiasm, happy to greet us and occasionally distract us with a game of fetch the ball. Our work in the trial consulting world can be stressful and difficult. Like many of our attorney clients, we are involved in high stakes litigation and it often involves some sort of tragic event. With tragedies come the stories, the photos, and the realization of the inequities of living. Some stories are more tragic than others, but on cases with physical and mental injuries, they are all pretty bad. Having a diversion around, like Willy, provides a brief respite from considering some of these stories. And, Willy is dutiful. He attends meetings, keeps watch on the office, and, once, he delivered a FedX package. He is on You Tube and has his own Instagram account where you can see him at work; search for “Working like a Dog”. I have to admit, being this dog is a pretty good gig, but Willy earns his keep around the office, where he works for kibble and bits. Sometimes one has to build some fun into life!

Another View

Melissa Pigott, Ph.D.

On October 8, 2015

Category: Employment, Getting the Job Done, Managing Employees, Small Business Success, Work-Life

Giving credit where credit is due, “working like a dog” is part of the lyrics to a song called “Hard Day’s Night” written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The first line in the song is, “It’s been a hard day’s night and I’ve been working like a dog.” Since 1964, when the song, album, and movie were released, I have listened to “Hard Day’s Night” countless times, interpreting the “working like a dog” lyric to mean working very hard. Now that Willy, Magnus’ canine office assistant, has been coming to the office with our employee, his owner, I have a whole new interpretation of this phrase. Willy does lots of things, but hard work is not among the things he does best. On any given day when Willy is at the office, his activities consist of tail wagging, visiting everyone in their office, sleeping in his doggy bed, fetching a toy, going for a walk, and in general, looking cute. I tell everyone Willy is the best employee in the history of Magnus: He never complains, he does whatever he is asked to do, and he works for dog treats! What more could any employer ask? Seriously, however, on days when things are hectic, or stressful, or less than perfect, having Willy around has been extremely positive. I call him the office “Zen Master” because of his ability to provide a calming, relaxing vibe to the office environment. Having an office dog has been great. Thanks, Willy, for working like a dog!

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