Dogs at work prove to be low cost way to boost morale, productivity
Amazon is not alone in this practice of allowing employees to bring their dogs to work, Alphabet, probably better known as Google, has an official pro-dog policy. Indeed its code of conduct states that “Google’s affection for our canine friends is an integral facet of our corporate culture.” Cats are not so welcome on the grounds that they would not adjust so well to office life.
Dogs – the great majority of them – like people and are anxious to please. They have developed amazing instincts in interacting with their human friends that allow them to detect moods and they often busy themselves finding ways of pleasing their owners. So it is hardly surprising that some major companies have latched onto the idea that dogs are conducive to productivity. At the corporate level, stand by for far more dogs in the workplace because it’s an amazingly low cost way of boosting employee morale. What’s not to like?
Economic Pundits Forecast 2.9% Global Economic Growth In 2017, IMF raised China’s growth to 6.7%, Economists raised Singapore’s Growth Forecast
Economists at the New York-based Conference Board, a global, independent business membership and research association, forecast that the current cyclical upswing and recovery in productivity will raise global growth to 2.9 per cent in 2017, up from 2.5 per cent last year. In its latest Global Economic Outlook report, the Conference Board said that the Leading Economic Index for the global economy showed a widespread strengthening of leading indicators around the world, especially in emerging markets and, particularly in India and China.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund has raised its forecast for China’s economic growth this year to 6.7 per cent, citing “policy support, especially expansionary credit and public investment”. The forecast was an increase from its already-raised April forecast of 6.6 per cent. China’s economy grew a faster-than-expected 6.9 per cent in the first quarter, well above the government’s target of around 6.5 per cent for the full year. The IMF said it now expects China’s growth to average 6.4 per cent from 2018-2020. In April, the fund said it expected 2018 growth to be 6.2 per cent.
And in Singapore, economists raised their forecasts for the country’s growth this year, compared to three months ago, as they upgraded their views on manufacturing and bank lending. The median forecast of 21 economists surveyed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) was for gross domestic product (GDP) to grow 2.5% in 2017, up from the 2.3% estimated in the previous survey, published in March. That would mark a pick-up from 2.0% growth in 2016, and would be at the upper end of the government’s forecast range.
