Workers at the social media service Instagram will soon join thousands of other U.S. employees who are reporting to the office full-time.
Parent company Meta confirmed that Instagram chief Adam Mosseri had sent out a companywide directive this week informing employees of the return-to-office policy, which will take effect Feb. 2.
In his internal memo, which was first reported by the tech newsletter Sources, Mosseri cited the creativity and efficiency benefits of working together in person. He added that Silicon Valley-based Instagram would move its offices to a different building in Menlo Park, California, in January so everyone could have a desk; he did not provide further details about a new space.
Bay Area employees can ask to transfer to parent company Meta’s downtown San Francisco office for a better commute and work remotely “when you need to,” Mosseri wrote. He added that the new policy would not apply to fully remote workers.
Mosseri wrote that “2026 is going to be tough, as was 2025, but I’m excited about our momentum and our plans for next year.”
Across the United States, companies are requiring more in-person time from employees by revoking remote work privileges, increasing the number of days they’re required to be in an office or asking a portion of the workforce to move closer to a corporate hub. Those demands, a number of landlords say, are finally beginning to translate into a material boost in office leasing after Amazon implemented its full-time office mandate early this year, kicking off the trend among major tech firms.
Back to the office
Last month, Amazon, the Seattle-based e-commerce giant, shut one of its last remaining doors on remote work, levying a new mandate calling employees across its Ring video doorbell division back to the office. The new rule means many previously remote employees will have to relocate to keep their jobs.
The number of Fortune 100 companies that now require a five-day workweek in the office has soared to about 55% compared with the 5% reported two years ago, according to a JLL survey. Only 1% of companies continue to allow fully remote policies, the survey said.
About 35% of employees today work from home at least one day a week, according to research from the University of Pittsburgh School of Business. With a slew of mandates scheduled to roll out at the beginning of next year, that figure is expected to drop even further from its pandemic-era peak.
Meta’s Facebook and WhatsApp teams continue to require workers in the office at least three days a week. Most tech giants have also adopted a hybrid standard, though the trend is moving toward stricter in-person rules, especially as the competitive culture of AI startups has infused the cities’ work culture.
Return-to-office mandates have been widely credited with jump-starting San Francisco’s long-dormant real estate market in recent months. In August, Mayor Daniel Lurie ordered about 8,000 San Francisco city employees — some of whom had been working from home since 2020 — to start reporting to the office at least four days a week. State workers were asked to do the same earlier this year.