10/15/2025

Tighter RTO Rules May Cost Employers High-performing Pet Owners

New data suggest employees with pets will bolt jobs that reduce their flexibility

Company announcements of reinforced return to office (RTO) rules often spark vociferous protests from employees who have come to cherish more flexible working arrangements. But a recent report suggests employers ordering staff to spend more time back in the cubicle also provoke dissenting barks, meows and threats to quit from many staffers who work at home in the company of their beloved pets.

The risk of loud, even dogged RTO pushback from animal-loving workers became clear in a recent report by Employee Borderless, a research platform that reviews remote work service providers. It noted that 71 percent of all U.S. households — or 94 million in all — now own a pet, up from 65 percent in 2015. More significantly, for workplace harmony and stability, 67 percent of employees who live with a dog, cat, parrot, Guinea pig — or the potbellied variety — and other domestic critters said they would find a new job if their employer decided to reduce or terminate their remote working arrangements.

Similarly, 41 percent of pet owners questioned said they would take a cut in pay in order to continue working alongside their animal companions and 78 percent said they would reconsider their office job if dogs were banned from company premises. About 60 percent of respondents said they would take themselves for a walk away from work that created conflicts in caring for their pet.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Inc.