instagram Mandates Five-Dayโข Work Week Starting February 2nd, Cites Collaboration Boost
MENLO PARK, CA – January 29, 2026 – Instagram employees willโ be requiredโฃ to work fromโค the office five days a week, effective February 2nd,โ Meta confirmed Monday. โฃThe policy shift, โฃdetailedโ in a memo from Instagram โฃhead Adam Mosseri, aims to cultivate a more “creative โandโ collaborative working environment.”
Mosseri, in the memo titled “Building a Winning Culture in 2026,” stated his belief that in-personโ interaction fosters โฃgreater โคinnovation. “I believe that we are more creativeโ and collaborative when we are together in-person,” โhe wrote. “I felt this โpre-COVID and I feel it anyโข timeโ I go to our โNew York office where the โขin-person culture โis strong.”
A Meta spokesperson clarified to CNBCโค that โขthe newโ return-to-office (RTO) policy appliesโ solely to Instagramโฃ and does not extend toโ other Meta-owned platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp.
this move represents a tightening of MetaS previous RTO guidelines, implemented in 2023, which โrequired employees to be in the office at least three โdays per โคweek. Other tech giants have โadopted similar policies;โ Amazon hasโค also mandated a five-day work โขweek for many employees, while Alphabet, Apple,โข and Microsoft generally require at least three days in theโค office. Microsoftโค CEO Satya Nadella โrecently cited the weakening of social ties during the pandemic as a reason โฃfor strengthening its RTO โคpolicy, describing โฃthose ties asโ “necesary for innovation.”
Beyond the RTO mandate, Mosseri’s memo โฃoutlined โขadditional changesโ intended to โimprove productivity. Recurring meetings will be reviewedโ and canceled every six months unless โขdeemed “absolutely necessary,” and employeesโค are encouraged toโฃ decline meetings that disrupt dedicated focus time. “I want โฃmost of โyour time focused on building great products, not preparing โขfor meetings,” Mosseri wrote.
the memo also โemphasized a shift towardsโข practical submission over presentation. Mosseri called forโค increasedโค use of product prototypes, stating, “Prototypes allow us โฃto establish a proof of conceptโ and getโค a real sense โฃfor social dynamics,โ and we โuse โthem โfar too infrequently.”
Despiteโ acknowledging challenges aheadโ – noting that both 2025 and 2026 are expected to be “tough” years -โฃ Mosseriโ expressedโ optimismโค about Instagram’s future.”These changes are going โฃto meaningfully โhelp us move Instagram forward in a way we can all be proud of – with creativity, boldness, and craft,”โค he โขconcluded.
