animal coworkers This is Artemis Meow. She’s a very hard worker. This is our new coworker, Bumble Bee. She’s not much for typing, but very good for morale. Meet Freja, who really doesn’t want to get out of bed and get to work. Cosette likes to have a healthy snack while helping her daddy run reports. Dorian. WFH = woof from home, right? Atticus, my tuxedoed co worker, reminds me it’s break time. My coworkers are far too comfortable with each other. “Hey, I’m just laying on it. You don’t even wanna know what the dog did to it.” On Facebook my friends are playing a game where we begin a sentence with ‘today my coworker’ and then fill in what our pets have done. “Today I woke my coworker up while he was napping so he bit down hard on my hand and then ran away.” My assistant for the foreseeable future. He’s very eager, but unfortunately he needs a lot of direction! animal coworkers This is Maloney the cat! He’s ready for conference calls. This is Merlin! Instead of an intern getting my coffee, the intern is holding my coffee. (Don’t worry, it’s not hot.) Evie pouting that she’s not allowed to walk across my laptop. This is my new supervisor Molly who is disappointed in my productivity since I started working from home. This is Eowyn, shieldkitten of the Riddermark! She loves to lay down on my keyboard while I’m on Zoom calls, and thinks that the cursor on my screen is some kind of weird new insect that she *must* capture in the name of Science. My micromanaging supervisors Here’s our cat Smoky, performing a cat scan (on my ancient Epson Perfection scanner). Obi is disappointed with your work from home productivity, and will be watching you more closely from now on. My supervisors, Duchess & Bernie. I’ve successfully bribed my cat Pho to stay off my keyboard by offering up my laptop case. Not sure if I will get it back… Schmidt has recently been promoted to my boss. My human boss knows this and I told her I don’t make the rules, Schmidt does now. My son needs the desk for eLearning, so my workspace is the couch. My coworker, Carl, insists that I work with one hand, and rub his belly with the other. My feline colleague getting distracted by looking out the window, as I sometimes do as well, since my real office doesn’t have one. Kitty is clearly the supervisor here. I’m a voice actor, so I’m in a soundproof recording studio for most of the day. My dog has the option to hang out with any of my other four family members, but bangs the door to the room open so that he can wait outside my studio for me. Sometimes for hours. He’s a very very good puppers. This close to me or my office chair pretty much at all times. Here’s my co-worker, Gary. Lizzy is sad that opening day got cancelled. This is Murphy making sure I’m REALLY working from home… Birds at work. They’re probably all smarter than me, I should let them do some of my work. My foster dog Buster is the sweetest snuggly boy. He’s a 10-year-old pit who’s partially deaf and heartworm positive. He also has pneumonia and an eye infection, but he’s being treated and he’s much better. He’s amazingly happy. He really needs a forever family – maybe someone who works from home regularly? He mostly snoozes while I work. (We’re in Atlanta!) I adopted Spook here only 3 weeks ago, so we’re still negotiating the best cat spaces to sit and be petted and fussed over. Honestly the impressive part is that he uses his scratching post as a stepladder to do this. Hugo Johnson, ready for the conference call. I’m technically a student, but so it isn’t a “work office” but here is a picture of my dog Chubs using my computer as a pillow during a Zoom class. Tried to grab something from the printer and found a line. Here’s my cute, distracting cat/coworker Jasmine. Okay, I’m retired, so I’m not working at home, but the cat has expectations that his bed will be moved when the sun moves, and I fell down on the job. Tonks the Chonks is a year old. Minerva Side Eye This is Shadow McTavish, my noisy coworker. My desk is an antique Hoosier cupboard. Came from a Great Aunt. My buddies Wolfgang and James are slowly getting used to being restricted to The Cat Annex (a scratching pad) rather than getting to stand in the way of the screens, plonk down for cuddles right on my mouse, and so on. James Pepper making it clear who this desk really belongs to! Trigger, my Australian Shepherd (a retired agility dog) laying in my study. He’s one of my supervisors (I have 6 dogs). Here’s a pic of our senior cat Gritz! He’s 21. (Yes, really.) Emoji This was when he was trying to help me with Chemistry. Standing on my laptop trying to eat my snacks. Here is Kira snuggling me (very rare for her) while I work from home. My very sad office set up. Not shown- my turtle in his habitat with a symphony of crickets. Didn’t realize my coworkers could hear the crickets on Skype until someone asked. Emily Durkheim is not excited to be introduced during staff meeting. Bebe, Esq. Veronica, Shop Steward My rascally coworker Ina, a Maine Coon mix who is whiling away the shelter-in-place sleeping on a bed beside my computer or underneath my feet while I work (that is, when she isn’t stealing my pens or trying to knock over my coffee). Cat: Sorry, can someone mute their line? Sisko commandeered my work laptop when he deemed I was working too much. Then he decided it was a comfy place to nap. Dobby helps me at my desk. Bodie sheepishly vacating the desk chair he’d occupied while I was making coffee. Cauli just can’t get on with working from home until he’s had his morning coffee! Miranda has decided her place is at my feet like a faithful canine companion. Of course this involves a lot of turning around, forcing me to sit sideways at my desk. She’s lucky she’s cute! Miss Pickles is not very helpful, to be totally honest. Jackson has no idea what “work from home” means but he’s trying his best. Maggie has her own designated (heated!) WFH chair but sometimes tries to instigate a reorg while I’m on a break. I have a bite-happy meatloaf in place of my keyboard. Remus as wee babe in a office chair, he is over a hundred pounds now. Banjo being extremely helpful during Zooms. Nymeria is unimpressed with the concept of “productivity.” I’m at my wit’s end. My coworker “Mickie” won’t focus on his job. He’s constantly getting up from his desk, jumping on someone else’s chair and yelling out the window at people. I’ve asked him to stop repeatedly to no avail. HR has ignored my complaints. I’m considering just taking a nap. WWAAMD? I took a break from the computer to write appraisals while laying on the floor. Skye had other ideas. My husbands colleague before she joined a conference call. My colleague. She’s comfortable. My new laptop desk. Dorian Gray. The new guy got his own office on day one! I’m not sure you entered that right… Little dog has incorporated himself into my filing system. Big dog thinks it’s quitting time. Charlotte helping organise my calendar. That conference call put me to sleep too. Dante. I sent this photo to my real life “hooman” officemate yesterday: “I regret to inform you that you have been replaced as my officemate. Best of luck in your future endeavours.” Harlow is working very hard from my home office. His strengths include naps, snacking, and naps. My Flappy dog. I sometimes work at the dinning table and he is waiting for me to sit with him. He is an awkward coworker, he sits right on the chair with me. Kaylee joins me on a coffee break. Buddy is waiting for me to let him curl up on my lap. People is my supervisor. This is Kiki. She serves as a foot warmer under my desk. I have no idea how this is comfortable. Difficult coworker. Chaos Beast is equally helpful no matter where in the house I’m working–at my desk, on the couch, or at the dining room table. Like the rest of our city, Guinness doesn’t quite grasp the concept of social distancing. He insists on being between me and my laptop. Ella the hedgehog reading the draft of a document, but it’s hard for her to scroll down, she has no hands. Archer appreciates FERPA and though he is present during my Zoom office hours, he faces away and gives students their privacy. Guess who’s going to be comfy and who’s going to have a sore bottom from sitting on the floor tiles. Staff meeting I brought my own pajama pants! This is Ralph. He is getting VERY good at judging my work product. This is Clancy, who is clearly napping on the job. Our bottle baby goats Hiccup and May Pearl! This is Miss, my current CEO. She’s annoyed that I’ve interrupted her important Zoom meeting. I fear retribution. This is Sam the cat. We enjoy reading Ask a Manager together when we’re on break. Ursa likes to sit on my lap and stare at the screen like she knows what’s going on. This is Mycroft Holmes (Mikey for short) who really loves the fact that I am now working from home full time with a nice warm kitty bed/laptop. The hacker! Smokey and Bandit are doing their best to prevent me from working from home! The love the warm laptop and prevent me from getting any actual work done. My cat, Patti, working hard. She fell asleep shortly after this photo was taken. Lady Kelvin is happy I’m home. We spent the first year and a half of her life as WFH buddies. She’s happy I’m back where I belong. Genevieve’s favorite spot to monitor my work and keep me on task. Sorry, Myshkin, but this turned out to be the perfect height for a standing desk. I promise I’ll put your cat tree together when we’re allowed to go back to work. My coworker feels that I am most efficient with a fluffy buffer between the computer and my face. Please take a seat so we can discuss your performance review… -Nix, senior manager Our dogs don’t approve of work. This is Jane Isay, 8 lbs ,about fourteen years old rescue Bijon. My home office set up is a big overstuffed armchair in the living room. Two laptops, and a pad. She disappears during Zoom but returns when I am writing. I work at a college library so here is Lola advising me to buy A Cat in Paris or Kedi on Kanopy. I did not. Chachi is my new office manager. He is a micromanager who occasionally drools on the office furniture. Very counterproductive (but cute). My new supervisor lacks professional boundaries and even takes over my keyboard. I’m in New Zealand and this was the first day of full lockdown. I am lucky that I live in the country and so am not confined to a house. Although I can’t meet with human friends I can still meet with animal friends and get out for fresh air. a very helpful pug Paddington Paws working hard. Max at keyboard Almost every time I leave my desk for a minute, I come back to this. Fabrizzio is always judging me and my life choices. Here’s Elijah ‘helping’ in my temporary home office setup. I put the blanket next to my laptop but he still manages to get his paws in the way! Elsa. Even though my apartment is 1200 square feet, she and Callum fight over the one square foot between my keyboard and my computer monitors. She’s a former bottle calf, so she’s very friendly. Dairy farming in New Zealand – life is going on as usual. Rexford Tugwell has been learning more about higher ed administration this month (and particularly enjoys making guest appearances in web conferences). This is Hercules Mulligan. He’s up in it, lovin’ it. Knock him down, he gets the f* back up again! My Aussie Sam. Providing IT support and foot warming. glaring at me Micio and I had a break outside yesterday. My supervisor telling me when it’s time to stop work I’m a music teacher – working from home means giant instruments in a small office, and Socks is curious! Our cat Arya likes to hang around my SO’s desk at home. Finally he created a spot for her to chill in and she sleeps there most days. My coworker always tries to steal my food whenever I leave my desk. What should I do? New IT manager Gareth is settling in well. Blue managed to bring an entire conference call to a screeching halt. Sherlock Bones helping me study. Ollie and Danny keep me company while I keep working. Ivy and Mellie helping the girls with their school work in my “office.” Marlowe is a paws on supervisor. Sully is usually very shy, but she decided to pick my work at home time to suddenly become a lap cat. Kessel decided to peek around my computer to make sure I’m working. Gotta love a home office in the dining room! Move your meat, lose your seat! I’ve been working from home for the past couple of weeks, and my cat has been loving the extra lap naps! My new coworker is resting her butt on my keyboard. Somebody call HR. My cat Pudding getting in the way. It doesn’t matter how much space there is on the desk, she always wants to sit on my laptop. This is Lilly, and she’s 17. I am a community college instructor, and this is what grading is like! Sparky, 21 years, revelling in the desk lamp and emphasising that she’s the thing I should be paying attention to. Onyx in the front, Jet in the back. Brothers, 19 months. They are very accustomed to having me work from home, but are a little weirded out by the whole family. They have A Schedule, and are vocal about deviation from it. Henry waits for the meeting to begin. My cat Warden keeping watch out the office window. My coworker, Business Cat, often comes and sits on the corner of my desk, invading my space and breaking my concentration. I’ve tried asking her to stop, but she keeps doing it. What should I do? My cat, Chutney, and my dog, Agnes, took a much needed break from Zoom and FaceTime. Ezra’s new favorite spot! Working from home full-time while my son learns from home. The cat and the dog provide moral support. Oliver and I are both comfy in our WFH loungewear. My two new coworkers aren’t very good at social distancing, but they are fantastic at falling asleep on the job! Monkey greatly appreciates his new chair. He has much to say during work hours when I have to borrow it from him. Working on my midterm, I found my notes were fuzzier than usual… (PS with her help, I got an A!) Princess Fuzzyboots removed one of my paragraphs and added her own two cents. Protecting the laptop from birds since 2020. Lacey is an 8 year old shaded silver Persian cat. She thinks I’m guarding her food and water because they are on the floor behind the chair where I’m working. “You’re going to be here for how long??” Larry Brown has been promoted from Housecat III to Assistant Inventory Manager. Let’s all welcome Larry to the team! Monsieur Max, Personal Brand Manager, serves as lead creative of the team.. and by the team, I mean me, he’s what holds me together. Everything I am is because of this small dog. He also sleeps a lot. T, my orange cat, helping me with notes. This is one of my four cats, Jasper. He thinks it’s perfectly acceptable to lay all over my work in my new work from home setup in my kitchen. My cat Georgie (Georgiana Darcycat, sister of Fitzwilliam Darcycat) makes sure to attend all the classes I teach over Zoom. I set up my home “classroom” with some of the little toys and knick-knacks that used to live in my classroom at school to cheer up my students. I’m a full-time author so always WFM, usually from this couch. Pearl saw her chance when I got up to get more coffee. Baxter! Clifford is a retired service dog (he has arthritis). I don’t need a service dog, but he didn’t get the memo. Every hour, he nudges me until I go outside with him for 5 minutes. My wellbeing and work-life balance are very important to him! This is Raven, who is a micromanager. She’s available for adoption from City Kitties, in Washington, DC. Oliver never fails to open iTunes. My coworker (Vex) keeps rolling around on my desk and occasionally nipping my fingers. How do I make her be productive? Stealing one keyboard is not enough for Eragon, he must make sure to lay over both! Pemberley is preventing a good ergonomic setup. This is Sunday. She is thrilled to have everyone home but things are Not Regular and she is anxious. Madame Puzzles not being helpful… Our 9-month old kittens and I finally came to a compromise for my office. Each cat gets a box on my desk and one monitor has now been dedicated to cat and nature videos, which keeps them entertained for hours, but doesn’t always stop them from chasing the mouse across the other monitor. Sorry, he’s away from his desk – May I help you? My intern, Chickpea, has absolutely no professional norms, sometimes literally blocking my keyboard. How can I have a conversation with her about this without making her defensive? Woody is your kitty IT manager, at your service chasing down those mice. Daphne demands a tea break! Tigerlily gets her own ottoman in my messy home workstation. Tybalt loves to stop by to borrow a pencil. He’s also happy to edit my emails by stepping on the keyboard. Shamrock says he loves working from home! Here’s a photo of my new law partner, Justice Salmon P. Chase (named after a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court). I’m grateful to have his legal guidance as I adapt to working from my kitchen table. Here’s my dog, Fred, in his bliss, snuggled on my lap while I work at my desk. hey say it’s important when working from home to get dressed like your going to work everyday. Maisy is a good coworker as long as she’s ignored. Start petting her, and she just wants more, more, more till you’re covered in cat hair and drool. This is my sidekick, Ginger, who takes her job of barking at the squirrels Very. Seriously. Mabel is only happy when she’s laying on top of one of my arms, meaning the areas of the keyboard I can reach are constantly changing as she shifts around. A fun little extra challenge to working from home. Buddy is super bossy! I think I need a bigger desk. My current one doesn’t fit 2 monitors and 3 cats! Argent, the most nosy coworker (I also caught her sleeping on the job!) My husband and I have feline coworkers who look over our shoulders and remind us to take breaks. Working from home is tiring! My new supervisor (Sunny the red tabby) is NOT impressed by my work from home setup. Queen Foo Foo is keeping my chair warm for me! She’s been a wonderful companion for 16 years, so it only makes sense she’s up for helping me work from home during this stressful time! Latke is a comfy desk cat that also monitors my work atop her printer throne. Now to get all the dog hair off my office chair…. Ryder “helping” me work Silently judging my productivity Bohdi, my circus-peanut-colored co-worker, initially disagrees with my advice to a client, but comes around to my point of view after sufficient chin-scritchies. Toothless investigating my keyboard “We don’t know what this “kohnavirus” is but we like that both our mom’s are home and we can snuggle with them whenever they come sit on the couch. And we can sneak attack them with farts whenever we want!” Help! My coworker keeps licking me. Meet Peggy. Peggy enjoys birdwatching and standing in front of the camera when I’m on video calls. She also takes over my desk whenever I move my laptop. This is Rookie, head of our Warm Places to Nap division. In her free time she enjoys playing fetch and dumping her water dish all over the floor. My coworker Lu. This has been…an adjustment for all of us. If anyone had any tips for preventing barking on conference calls I’m all ears! My assistant Delmar, eagerly awaiting an assignment. My supervisor, Zola, wanting to know just what I think I’m doing. Due to some chronic back pain, the best place for me to work from my house is my bed. Toph likes to sit directly between me and my laptop — this picture is a view of what you’d see if you were one of my colleagues during a Zoom call. My wife moved from working at her desk to the couch to avoid the direct sun. A very snoozy Harper decided this was her chance. This is my cat Freya who likes to loaf on my paperwork and check out my cat-themed office supplies. My Walter – home office dog Sleeping on the job Otis went from sitting in my lap to taking this position on my laptop during a Zoom meeting. He then bit me and knocked my water bottle off the desk when I tried to move him. Any time I get up from my chair, Martha hops up and tries to take over. Thank goodness she can’t type (or read)! She’s monitoring my Slack conversations. This is Gray. She is an architect’s assistant. When she’s not sleeping, she eats drawings. 10/10 would recommend an assistant like Gray. Harley is a green cheek conure. He’s 15 now (only middle aged). Dart (D’artagnan) is a 10 year old chiuahua mix. They get along very well. My new supervisor! This is Barkley, my new co-worker & volunteer sheriff. I’m not sure he understands how the coronavirus works as he seems to think that he needs to be worried about everything outside the house including people, dogs, trucks, bikes, and the most dangerous thing of all, squirrels. Had to give my cat coworker her own cubicle to keep her off my keyboard. She still steals my pens, though, when I’m not looking. Here is my little home coworker, he is 20 years old in this picture, just a few weeks ago, and he has since crossed the rainbow bridge. He was a great friend for a really long time. Queen Vicki helping me with data entry. Little Bug, my mini dachshund, had to sit right next to me when working or she’ll bark the entire day. According to my catculations… “Pay attention to me!!” – The cat loves that I’m home, but struggles with the ‘work’ part. Sadie! Kermit hard at work Frankie invading my workspace! Meta-Cat This is my dog Max, who is delighted to have everyone home all day. Gomez is always hard at work.