Instagram chief Adam Mosseri is ordering most US staff in his organization back to the office five days a week starting February 2, according to an internal memo obtained by Business Insider.
Other tech giants such as Alphabet, Apple, and Microsoft have taken a slightly softer approach, generally requiring staff to be in the office at least three days a week.
“I want most of your time focused on building great products, not preparing for meetings,” Mosseri wrote.
“2026 is going to be tough, as was 2025, but I’m excited about our momentum and our plans for next year,” Mosseri wrote.
2026 is going to be tough, as was 2025, but I’m excited about our momentum and our plans for next year.
According to an internal memo obtained by Business Insider, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri is directing the majority of his US employees to return to work five days a week beginning on February 2.
The memo, titled “Building a Winning Culture in 2026,” says the change applies to employees in US offices with assigned desks and is part of a broader push to make Instagram “more nimble and creative” as competition intensifies.
“I believe that we are more creative and collaborative when we are together in-person,” Mosseri wrote. “I experienced this prior to COVID, and I still do every time I visit our New York office, where there is a strong in-person culture. “.
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Many corporate employees were instructed by Amazon earlier this year to report back to work five days a week. Other tech behemoths like Alphabet, Apple, and Microsoft have adopted a somewhat more lenient stance, typically mandating that employees work three days a week.
“I want most of your time focused on building great products, not preparing for meetings,” Mosseri wrote.
Additionally, the head of Instagram demanded more product prototypes than slide decks.
“Prototypes allow us to establish a proof of concept and get a real sense for social dynamics, and we use them far too infrequently,” Mosseri wrote.
Mosseri wrote, “I’m excited about our momentum and our plans for next year, but 2026 will be tough, as was 2025.”. “These changes are going to meaningfully help us move Instagram forward in a way we can all be proud of — with creativity, boldness, and craft. “.
Meta refrained from commenting.
See the complete memo below.
Creating a Winning Culture by 2026.
This year, we’ve made significant strides in the areas of Instagram, which stands for creativity, and Threads, which stands for perspectives. However, if we want to lead in both of these areas, we still need to do more. A big part of this will come down to strategy, and I feel good about the plan we’ve put together for next half. Equally important is how well we work. I’ve been thinking a lot about how we can be more nimble and creative in order to stay competitive. It’s clear we have to evolve, so we’re going to make a series of changes next year:.
1. Returning to the office: I think that when we are together in person, we are more inventive and cooperative. I felt this pre-COVID and I feel it any time I go to our New York office where the in-person culture is strong.
Starting February 2, I’m asking everyone in my rollup based in a US office with assigned desks to come back full time (five days a week). The specifics:.
Since I understand that there will be occasions when you are unable to visit the office, you will still be able to work from home when necessary. I trust you all to use your best judgment in figuring out how to adapt to this schedule.
We won’t expect you to return full-time to the NY office until we’ve resolved the space issues. We’ll share more once we have a better sense of timeline.
In MPK, we’ll move from MPK21 to MPK22 on January 26 so everyone has an assigned desk. For those whose commute would be the same or better with that change, we are also providing the option to move from the MPK to the SF office. We’ll reach out directly to those people with more info.
XFN partners will continue to follow their own org norms.
There is no change for employees who are currently remote.
Two. Fewer meetings: We all spend too much time in ineffective meetings, which slows us down. Every six months, we’ll cancel all recurring meetings and only re-add the ones that are absolutely necessary. I also support everyone in making recurring 1:1s biweekly by default and declining meetings if they fall during your focus blocks.
3. More demos, less decks: Most product overviews should be prototypes instead of decks. We use prototypes far too infrequently, despite the fact that they enable us to establish a proof of concept and gain a true understanding of social dynamics. If a strategy doc is appropriate, it should be three pages, max, and follow this template. If a deck is required, it should be as small as feasible. For all reviews, make it very clear up front what the goal of the meeting is and what the key points are that you need to discuss. I want you to spend the majority of your time creating excellent products rather than getting ready for meetings.
4. Faster decision-making: We’re going to have a more formalized unblocking process with DRIs, and I’ll be at the priorities progress unblocking meeting every week. (On weeks where I’m not able to attend, I’ll delegate decision-making to one of my directs. ) This way open decisions don’t sit for more than a few days, max.
I’ll discuss these changes in more detail at next week’s All Hands, and team members will share our priorities for the upcoming year with you. 2026 is going to be tough, as was 2025, but I’m excited about our momentum and our plans for next year. These changes are going to meaningfully help us move Instagram forward in a way we can all be proud of — with creativity, boldness, and craft.
