During these Corona times, Burda’s office dogs are also mostly working from home. How do they like this change? Today, Danish–Swedish farmdog Danska from corporate HR tells us all about it.
Dogs are good for the working climate, keep us moving, promote communication and make us laugh. According to a Statista study, dog owners who are allowed to take their animals to work are less stressed and their colleagues more satisfied. And as long as the office community and the superiors have nothing against it, there is a lot to be said for taking friendly four-legged friends to work with you. At Burda, there are many woof-tastic coworkers. Some of these dogfluencers even have their own Instagram account and one of them acted as inspiration for Burda's first dog magazine. Here, a few Burda dogs introduce themselves personally.
Who are you and where are you from?
My name is Krümel (meaning Crumble). I am a Pomeranian and proud 5 years old. I came to my owner by chance, because she met my half brother's family in the pedestrian zone and thus established contact with my breeder mother. Then my mum fell in love with me immediately and took me home with her a few weeks later.
Where does your owner work and what's her name?
My owner's name is Laura Stratmann and she works in the social media team at Focus Online, that's an incredibly dog-loving and funny bunch. She seems to have a lot of fun every day, because she laughs a lot and there is always a good mood around. Most of the time she sits in front of her computer while I sit on the windowsill behind her and make sure she doesn't miss my 12 o'clock walking break. When she's not sitting in front of the computer, tinkering with colorful pictures or thinking about creative lines, she's rushing through the building with me on her arm from appointment to appointment. After all, I want to be everywhere and know who she is meeting.
How often do you come to the office and what does a typical day look like?
I’m at the office every day. In the morning my owner fills my water bowl and gives me a breakfast snack. Then she disappears for 20 minutes and leaves me in my basket on the windowsill and I catch up on a little sleeping. Then she sits down at her desk and mostly has to be reminded by me that it is 12 o'clock and it is time for a long walk. Afterwards I often go to a think tank where my owner discusses important things with her colleagues. But as long as I have a good view from the windowsill onto the courtyard, the day is saved. At 5:30 pm we go to the underground garage and jet home, so that I can make a nice evening walk and enjoy my well-deserved dinner.
Where's your favorite spot at work?
My absolute favorite place is my windowsill. Here I never lose track of the trains running by and occasionally a breakdown in local traffic. So I cuddle up in my soft bed and enjoy the view or take a nap and let the sun shine on my fur.
What makes you howl, when do you start growling?
I consider myself to be a very balanced character with a slight craving for attention. My owner sometimes calls me delusional, but what does she know?! I love long walks and like to meet with my dog buddies, who would describe me as very generous (Yes, I share my treats without problems) and cheerful contemporaries. I am more robust than I look and accompany my owner through thick and thin.
Who is your favourite person in the office and why?
Rici from my owner's team is my absolute favourite person in the office. She just knows exactly how to pet me and lets me sleep when I'm tired. I don't really have anyone whom I don't like, but due to my skin disease my back is very sensitive, so I generally don't like to be touched that much.
Are there any other office dogs besides you, if so, who?
Sadly, there are no other office dogs on the same floor as me.
Truth be told - What mischief have you ever done in the office?
I woke up and my owner wasn't there, her chair was deserted and I didn't know where she was - she had disappeared without a trace. So I panicked, in my opinion completely understandable, and started to cry. I couldn't know that she was standing around the corner in the MCI. The MCI is the "Morning Check in", a big Focus Online meeting where the management is present and each team presents the traffic from the previous day and then think about which topics to start the day with. So I embarrassed my owner a bit in front of the whole team... In any case, she came running very fast and I was able to calm down again and continue sleeping. I didn't know that my owner could run so fast...
What do you look forward to the most after work?
We live outside of Munich and I'm looking forward most of all to the big field walk that we take every evening with my owners and my small/big Labrador sister. There I can play, sniff and stretch my feet and afterwards a big bowl of dinner is waiting for me. I especially love dried chicken breast and juicy turkey sticks.
