“A dog-friendly office is a stress-free office” says Brighton tech CEO

Brighton tech CEO shares experience of letting employees’ dogs come to work for Stress Awareness Week

In advance of Stress Awareness Week (7-11 November), one Brighton-based business is sharing their experience of allowing dogs in the office to help reduce stress.

A lover of dogs, Cloud9 Insight CEO Carlene Jackson realised that inviting dogs into the office during the 2022 heat waves seemed to boost team morale as well as reducing stress levels.

“A lot of our employees wanted to come to the office because we have pretty good air con. But it occurred to me that WFH employees’ pets might be struggling in the heatwave, too.

“I took the lead, so to speak, and brought my dogs into the office. I have two fluffy Samoyeds and I encouraged employees to bring their dogs in as well.

“Stroking a dog is known to reduce stress and increase wellbeing, releasing vital mood-boosting hormones like serotonin and oxytocin into the bloodstream.

“And I think that’s why, in our case, we’ve found a dog-friendly office is a stress-free office.

“I wanted to share this experience to help anyone who runs an office which is affected by stress this Stress Awareness Week. I do feel that dogs can play a big part in combating the work-related stress that most of us feel from time to time.”

The Cloud9 office and its staff are welcome to bring their dogs to work, with there already being office Labradors and Jack Russells, as well as Carlene’s two fluffy Samoyeds, Shaska and Bear, all of whom have found a welcome home within the team.

Another favourite is Dolly the poodle, whose owner Sam, generously shares Dolly with the rest of the office.

“Bringing Dolly to work keeps me calm, as I always have a familiar face that I can rely on to pick me up. I love seeing her make new friends in the office, too.” said Sam.

But the dog-sharing didn’t stop there. The Cloud9 office is in a building with a number of healthcare providers, including breast cancer clinics.

When Carlene realised what a great impact the dogs were having on the team’s mood, she decided to extend this initiative even further.

“I decided to offer the office dogs to some of the patients in the clinics below us, as a way of spreading the positivity throughout the entire building.

“I know that my dogs have an amazing impact on my mood, and I felt that patients who are in clinics for treatment might also benefit from seeing a friendly fluffy face.”

Dolly and friends have all been offered to the patients there, as a way of keeping them positive at a time when they need some emotional support.

Since introducing the initiative, Carlene has witnessed real improvements in employee morale, stress levels and productivity.

“I feel that having dogs in the office gives our employees a positive boost when they need it.

“We all know our productivity levels fluctuate throughout the day, so having five minutes with a fluffy companion can help break up our workday and give us time to let our creative thinking flow.”

About Carlene Jackson

Carlene Jackson is the CEO of Brighton-based tech company Cloud9 Insight, a Microsoft Gold Partner, which has provided over a thousand businesses with cloud-based CRM software systems. Founded in 2010, they continue to experience an average year on year growth of 35 percent. Never afraid of being disruptive; Carlene has brought in a nine-day working week and continues to put workplace culture front and centre of business growth.

Shortlisted in the ‘Woman of the Year’ category in the Women In IT national awards 2021, Carlene also recently set up Cloud9 University; a training business to support development of talent in the tech sector.

Carlene established her first business in Brighton aged 17 and then spent nearly two decades in the software industry working for companies including IBM, Xansa, and Sage before going it alone to take advantage of the booming cloud technology sector.

She is frequently featured in the media, including as a regular guest of BBC Radio, for her expertise and opinions on tech and entrepreneurship, as well as her views on company culture, employee wellbeing and neurodiversity.

Carlene lives in Brighton with her husband and three children with whom she shares a passion for travel, good food and making music. She also enjoys walks on the beautiful South Downs with her two Samoyed dogs.