According to CNBC, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri has ordered employees back to the office five days a week in a new mandate that takes effect on February 2. The policy, detailed in an employee memo, is specifically aimed at fostering a more creative and collaborative environment at the photo-sharing app. Mosseri also reportedly wants to cut down on meetings and push teams to build more product prototypes instead of relying on formal documentation, or “decks.” A Meta spokesperson confirmed this strict return-to-office rule applies only to Instagram and not to other apps like Facebook or WhatsApp within the company’s family. This creates a notable split in policy inside one of the world’s largest tech companies.
Instagram Goes Rogue
Here’s the thing: this isn’t a Meta-wide decree. It’s an Instagram-specific play. That’s fascinating. It suggests Adam Mosseri is making a calculated, top-down bet that his product’s future—its next big features, its fight against TikTok—hinges on forcing people together physically. He’s basically saying the hybrid or remote model that works for, say, the WhatsApp team, isn’t cutting it for Instagram’s needs. But is that true? Or is this more about management wanting a sense of direct control during a tricky period for the social media giant?
The Prototype Push
Let’s not overlook the other part of the memo: fewer meetings, more prototypes. That’s a sentiment you’ll hear echoed in tech circles everywhere. Everyone hates bloated meeting culture and endless PowerPoints. Mosseri is explicitly tying the in-office mandate to output—he wants tangible things built, not just discussed. In theory, that’s great. But in practice, will returning to a five-day commute actually free up time to build more? Or will it just replace one form of exhaustion (video calls) with another (travel), while the pressure for deliverables increases? It’s a risky trade-off.
A Trend or an Outlier?
So, is this the start of a wider rollback of remote work in tech? I don’t think so, at least not yet. Look, big tech is deeply split. You have companies like Airbnb championing “work from anywhere,” while others like Google and Amazon have been tightening the screws with hybrid mandates. Instagram’s full-on, five-day order is an extreme even within that spectrum. It feels less like a leading indicator and more like a specific, desperate Hail Mary for a specific product unit that feels it’s lost its creative mojo. For Meta’s other teams, and for the industry watching, this will be a high-profile case study. If Instagram suddenly starts pumping out hit features, other leaders will point to this policy. If morale tanks and attrition spikes, it’ll become a cautionary tale.
