If you thought it was cool to have ‘dog-friendly’ offices, a small IT firm in Japan has one-upped that concept — an office where nine cats live and roam like the feline bosses they are.
For nearly twenty years, Ferray Company, headed by Hidenobu Fukuda, has had a ‘cat accompanying commuting system’ that has allowed employees not only to bring their own kittehs to work with them, but gives nine office cats a place to call home 24-7.
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The ‘commuting’ began when one of Ferray’s employees suggested that they should be able to bring their cats to work. Fukuda, says he wasn’t necessarily a cat person when he started the program, but he was an animal lover, so he had no problem with letting family members come to work with employees!
Now, employees bring their cats to the office, where food is given twice a day. The felines are taskmasters, though, as they’ll gently remind employees with a paw to the old computer screen if their meals are late! Additionally, Fukuda says that charming as they are, as cats are prone to do, they sometimes they cancel calls or shutdown the computers as they mosey around the office. (But let’s be real, we know those cats don’t give any #$%#$ about shutting a computer down accidentally!)
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But, they do put smiles on their employees’ faces, and the policy also encourages rescuing other cats, as Fukada says that employees receive stipends of 5,000 yen (approximately $45USD) for rescue fees and food.
The successful program now brings employee applicants who are 100% cat lovers (so no dogs need apply!) says Fukuda. He says as an employer, the climate in the office helps bring the cream of the crop to to his firm, attracting excellent employees who have hearts for their animals. As a small business, it helps build their company in a big way, while also taking care of feline bosses.
Meow!
[Source: AFPBB]
