Chief Happiness Officer.
Credit: LinkedIn/Rahul Arepaka
A Hyderabad-based start-up's latest hire is a four-legged fluffy boy named Denver. His official designation is Chief Happiness Officer (CHO). Co-founder of Harvesting Robotics, Rahul Arepaka, made the announcement of the golden retriever joining their team in a LinkedIn post, which captured the internet's heart.
The post read, “Meet our newest hire, Denver – Chief Happiness Officer.” “He doesn’t code. He doesn’t care. He just shows up, steals hearts, and keeps the energy up. Also, we’re officially pet-friendly now. Best decision. BTW: He’s got the best perks in the company."
Arepaka said that making their office pet-friendly and Denver's addition to the team was "the best decision."
The post garnered thousands of likes, and the comments were flooded with love and support.
A user joked that Denver was "exhausted with the responsibility of making everyone happy." Another comment read, "4 paws, 0 stress & 100% tail-wagging positivity! Superb initiative."
"A Workplace like this won't need Happiness Surveys... This here solves your employee retention issue forever," a user commented.
Many users were quick to call for other companies to make a similar initiative. Others lauded it as a much-needed move in the corporate world to boost productivity and foster a positive attitude.
"We need more of CHOs - Global mandate and possibly perfect RTO vision," a user demanded. While another said, "Well done! Rahul it's going to boost your company's productivity and financials, very soon!"
Companies such as InMobi, Chaayos, Urban Company, and DriveU are among others with pet-inclusive policies.
Pet-friendly companies are on the rise and research suggests that having pets at the workplace reduces stress and improves work engagement.