Wellness benefits should extend to employees’ pets too

Interacting and having a relationship with an animal can help employees manage their long-term mental health.

With people spending the majority of their time at home during the pandemic, the bond between people and pets has only grown stronger. Pet adoption rates surged in 2020, with the community adoption rate at 73%, up from 64% in 2019, according to Shelter Animals Count, a non-profit that collects data from animal shelters.

As the COVID crisis places greater strain on employee well-being, employers need to expand benefits to cater to the whole individual and their life in and out of the office. Younger employees especially are looking for a broader suite of wellness benefits that include healthcare for themselves and their furry friends.

“Millennials are now spending more money on their pets than they are on themselves,” says Christie Horvath, CEO and co-founder of pet insurance and wellness benefits provider Wagmo. “This transition to the focus on pet care and wellness is a natural evolution.”

Even before the pandemic, employers recognized the importance of providing pet perks like insurance, doggy daycare and pet-friendly workplaces in their benefit packages. Currently, 15% of organizations offer pet insurance benefits, according to the Society for Human Resource Management.

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Wagmo offers traditional pet insurance benefits — including emergency coverage for illness, injury and chronic conditions — with additional wellness benefits like annual office visits, flea and tick medicines, routine blood work, vaccines, dental care and grooming. Additionally, members get access to Barkbox subscriptions and puppy training courses.

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“We’re cultivating this really cool community of like-minded pet parents who are invested in keeping their pets healthy,” Horvath says. “We're really trying to bring to light some of these other tangential aspects of keeping your pet well and addressing the whole pet wellness journey.”

Pets provide comfort and stress relief for employees while also improving workplace productivity. Of employers with a pet policy in place, 42% saw an increase in their employees’ productivity, according to a survey by Banfield Pet Hospital. As employers consider a return to the office, they should consider inviting pets back too: one in two Gen Zers and one in three millennials say they would consider looking for another job post-pandemic if their workplace was not pet-friendly, the survey found.

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“A solution like pet insurance is a very easy way for an employer to say, ‘I see you, I understand what you're going through and I understand what's important to you,’” Horvath says. “It's a quick win for employers.”