In just 43 days The Fearey Group is moving! We’re packing up our home of 20+ years in suite 1111 in Seattle’s iconic Tower Building and heading upstairs (one floor!) to 1212 (go Seahawks!). In addition to the usual pains and strains of moving, we will be completely changing the layout of our office. While each staff member having their own office and door has long been a point of pride at Fearey, we’ve decided to throw the constraints of privacy to the wind and embrace an open workspace. Needless to say, this is going to take some adjustment. Why did we decide to make such a bold move? Privacy, while among the most basic of human concerns, is not necessarily a requisite for productivity. In fact visibility and interaction has been shown to boost it. But it goes beyond that. The way we do our business has changed. The way we interact with each other has changed.
PR work is all about building relationships. In the past those interactions were largely done by telephone: close the door, get on the phone, focus on the conversation. These days the conversation happens differently. We email, we text, and we sit face to face. This may seem like a tendency toward the impersonal, but it actually gives us the opportunity to remove the barriers between us. We can better thrive as a group by cro
ss-pollinating and collaborating, allowing interactions to happen organically and strengthening our core as a team.
Our new space will feature expanded common spaces for informal get togethers as well as phone booths for the times when a quiet phone call is needed. We’re also reducing the size and role of our reception area, allowing our open office to be a welcoming space for visitors. I’m excited for this new chapter! I love my team and I can’t wait to see the ways in which we will grow and flourish in this new, inclusive environment.