Hire Me - Hire My Dog

IT can be a dog's life for the hard-slogging hi-tech workers of Silicon Valley, where the endless hours, intense pressure and warp-speed business environment are driving employees to the psychologists' couches.

Now the titans of technology have come up with a new strategy to ease thier workers' worries and prevent them jumping ship to rival companies: they allow them to bring their dogs to work.

Such well-known outfits as Netscape and Amazon.com are the pioneers of the canines-in-the-cubicle policy. The Internet's leading bookseller is so serious about the perk that it reportedly turned down a number of leases for a new headquarters after the landlords refused to allow pets. And when America Online recently bought Netscape, one of the first things it did was assure nervous workers that they could keep their dogs at work.

Supporters say the policy increases productivity by reducing workers' stress. They cite them as good ice-breakers for shy workers, and they force people to take breaks from their computers.

But there can be disadvantages too, especially if the dog is not properly office-trained and dirties the carpet, fights with other dogs, bites your boss or disrupts other people's concentration. These were some of these reasons given when Internet portal company, Excite, recently decided to ban pets at work after a chorus of barking interrupted a top-level meeting.

That incident prompted one popular computer magazine to publish guidelines for pet-friendly companies. These included a pet-free zone for workers with allergies, a compulsory vaccination programme and a punishment policy for disruptive pets.

Silicon Valley insiders wonder where the trend will end and predict, only half in jest, that pets will soon be on the payroll with their masters.