Job stress can have well-being consequences for the employee’s loved ones through crossover: the transference of work-related stress from an employee to their family members. Pet dogs—who most Americans view as family members—may also be susceptible to crossover. Given prior support for dogs’ abilities to perceive and absorb a human’s emotions via emotional contagion, we expected that pet dogs of owners with higher job stress would themselves be more stressed. We anticipated that work-related rumination, or the tendency to continue thinking about work during leisure time, would explain this relationship. All variables were measured using self-report scales administered in an online survey, and dogs’ stress was captured in two ways: as owner-perceived and behaviorally indicated. The sample included 85 employees and their pet dogs.
Controlling for home stress, we found that job stress related to behaviorally indicated stress in dogs. Work-related rumination explained this relationship. This study unites organizational research with companion animal welfare and supports the presence of crossover in the dog-owner bond. Based on these findings, employed dog owners might benefit from avoiding work-related rumination when at home to protect the well-being of man’s best friend.
2 Medical News 