Instagram chief announces a strict new RTO policy

In one of the strictest return-to-office policies among big tech companies, Instagram is requiring its US-based employees to return to the office five days a week from February 2. Meanwhile, its parent company, Meta, is maintaining a hybrid work schedule for other divisions.

Instagram head Adam Mosseri tells staff internal memo Instagram leaked Monday that it will expect US employees with fixed desks to be in the office full time starting February 2. Mosseri wrote that there are some exceptions. For example, Instagram doesn’t expect New York employees to return full-time until the company eases space limitations.

“2026 is going to be tough, as was 2025, but I’m excited about our momentum and our plans for next year,” Mosseri wrote in the memo.

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a meta spokesperson confirmed to cnbc This five-day requirement applies only to Instagram, not other meta divisions like Facebook and WhatsApp, which remain on a three-day office. hybrid policy Introduced in September 2023. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg Confirmed Meta’s hybrid schedule at a company-wide all-hands meeting in January.

Instagram is now one of the most prominent tech companies to mandate completely in-person office schedules, while its parent company, Meta, maintains a more flexible standard.

Mosseri wrote in the memo that Instagram’s shift toward a completely personalized approach would boost creativity, collaboration and competitiveness as the platform faces pressure from rivals like YouTube. As of November, Instagram had 7.11% of the social media market, with YouTube following behind with 6.98%. StatCounter,

“I believe we are more creative and collaborative when we are together in person,” Mosseri said in the memo, “I felt this pre-COVID.”

Instagram’s move toward fully in-person work goes further than most big tech companies, which have typically chosen a hybrid work model. For example, Google, transferred A hybrid work week in May 2021, with three days in the office and two days remote Mandatory Starting this year, from February 2026, employees will come to office three days a week.

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Some large companies, including Amazon, AT&T and Dell, have implemented five-day office requirements this year, arguing that full-time physical presence streamlines operations and improves collaboration.

Even with orders to return to the office, Mosseri is exploring ways to improve operations at Instagram. For example, he wrote in the memorandum that recurring meetings would be canceled every six months and would be reinstated only when deemed necessary. He also asked teams to present working prototypes of products in meetings instead of slide decks or lengthy documents and to focus on execution.

“I want most of your time to be focused on building great products, not on preparing for meetings,” Mosseri wrote.

instagram was over 181 million US users as of October, according to Statista.

In one of the strictest return-to-office policies among big tech companies, Instagram is requiring its US-based employees to return to the office five days a week from February 2. Meanwhile, its parent company, Meta, is maintaining a hybrid work schedule for other divisions.

Instagram head Adam Mosseri tells staff internal memo Instagram leaked Monday that it will expect US employees with fixed desks to be in the office full time starting February 2. Mosseri wrote that there are some exceptions. For example, Instagram doesn’t expect New York employees to return full-time until the company eases space limitations.