To foster a fun and creative work environment, more and more companies are having "take your pet to work" day. But Jim Harding, CEO of a Seattle start-up tech company Cirqe went a step further: he took his yak to work!
SEATTLE -- You may have heard of taking your child to work day, but one Seattle executive brought his yak to work instead.
Jim Harding is founder and chief executive officer of Seattle start-up Cirqe, which hopes to create a revolution in e-mail.
Weighing in at over 1,000 pounds, Harding's long-haired bovine just hung around the office on Tuesday. The conference room was unavailable.
"As you can see, he's pretty calm, he's cool, he's collected," Harding said.
But what about the cleanup? Nothing a shovel couldn't solve.
"Yeah, he does tend to do that, about eight times a day," Harding said.
Employees said Harding tries to foster a fun and creative work environment.
"It's an unusual office, but it's really fun," said software engineer Raul Raja. "You can't say much when the boss brings in a yak."
The company is developing a product that turns a traditional e-mail inbox into a collection of social networks.
Harding figured why not add some workplace levity by bringing in one of the yaks from his ranch. He has 20 of the animals.
By lunch time, it was time to let the yak out to graze.
Cirqe leases space from a community organization, so the kids who come for after-school programs also got a chance to meet the yak.