Articles keep claiming that hub-and-spoke offices are the post-pandemic future. You're all wrong: a .

The appeal of the hub-and-spoke model is straightforward: rather than commuting into the central office every day, most employees travel to an office closer to where they reside. They get the benefit of working in an office without commuting into the CBD.

Lots of people love this idea:
- https://www.wework.com/ideas/office-design-space/the-hub-and-spoke-model-as-demonstrated-by-wework
- https://www.fastcompany.com/90545418/see-the-unusual-new-office-design-that-deloitte-and-kpmg-are-exploring
- https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/04/upshot/work-office-from-home.html

But it's a terrible idea for a couple of reasons:

1) You're getting the worst of both worlds. You still have to commute (albeit not as far) and deal with the noise and distractions of an office, with few of the upsides (you still work virtually with colleagues in other locations)

2) Culturally it's hard. Firms need to adopt desk sharing (eg. ABW) because not every employee will be in the office every day. Ask anyone that's adopted ABW: it's hard at the best of times.

3) From a real estate perspective it's a mess. You go from having one central lease to having a bunch of small leases all over the city, each with its own terms, problems, and amenities.

4) It's bad for equality. If you create three satellite offices in Park Slope, Queens, and Harlem, guess what: you've just divided your company not by department or project but by demographic characteristics and socioeconomic status.

5) In countries that have already suppressed the pandemic, like NZ and Australia, they're not really doing this.

People are definitely going to spend more time working at home. But the idea that companies are going to open small offices in the suburbs is a ridiculous fantasy.