While most tech companies continue embracing flexible work schedules, Instagram is charting a different course by requiring its U.S. employees to return to the office five days a week starting February 2026. This bold move puts Instagram at odds with its parent company Meta, which only asks other divisions like Facebook and WhatsApp to work in the office three days per week.
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri believes that working together in person sparks more creativity and collaboration. In an internal memo titled “Building a Winning Culture in 2026,” he explained that face-to-face interactions help teams stay nimble and innovative during tough competition. Mosseri expects 2026 to be a challenging year and sees the office return as a key part of Instagram’s strategy to stay ahead.
Face-to-face interactions help teams stay nimble and innovative during tough competition, making office return key to staying ahead.
The policy applies mainly to U.S. offices, though New York City employees get a delay until the company solves space problems. Workers can still work from home occasionally when truly necessary, but the focus is clearly on being together in person.
Instagram plans to sweeten the deal with office upgrades, including moving from their current Menlo Park location to nicer spaces with assigned desks for everyone.
Instagram is also shaking up meeting culture in interesting ways. Every six months, all recurring meetings will be automatically canceled and only brought back if absolutely essential. Employees are encouraged to skip meetings that interfere with their focused work time.
Instead of endless slide presentations, the company wants teams to show actual working prototypes during reviews. The company aims to increase prototypes of product overviews rather than traditional presentation decks.
Workers facing long commutes can transfer between the Menlo Park and San Francisco offices if it makes their travel easier. This practical approach shows Instagram wants to be firm but fair about the new rules.
Instagram joins companies like Amazon, AT&T, and Dell in requiring full-time office attendance. These firms believe that being together five days a week improves teamwork and gets things done faster. The decision comes as Instagram maintains its 7.11% market share in the competitive social media landscape. Like traders using scalping strategies that require constant market monitoring and quick decision-making, Instagram believes having employees physically present will enable faster execution and more immediate responses to market changes.
While this breaks from Silicon Valley’s typical flexibility, Instagram is betting that closer collaboration will help them build better products and stay competitive in the social media world.
