00:00Remember Forced Joy, the miserable corporate trend where companies tell employees how to act
00:04with mandates about enthusiasm and positivity? Well, now companies have found a new way to
00:09control their employees, this time about what their workers should wear. Starting this summer,
00:13Target is tightening up its dress code, requiring employees to wear blue-collar denim or khakis
00:18with plain red shirts. Logos, graphics, and other colors are forbidden unless worn under a company
00:23vest. And store leaders cannot wear shorts. The move follows Starbucks, which last year directed
00:28its baristas to wear only a solid black shirt under their green aprons. Dress codes and uniforms have
00:33always been used by companies to signal an identity. But in this case, it serves a very
00:38specific purpose. Target is trying to reassure investors and customers that it's in control
00:43by exerting greater management of its employees. Back in March, Target reported its 13th consecutive
00:47quarter of sluggish or declining sales a month after its new CEO took the job. It's all in line
00:52with the current zeitgeist in corporate America. Bosses are in their command and control era,
00:57With AI anxiety and mass layoffs, the management class is reclaiming its authority by quashing
01:02dissent, increasing surveillance, and cutting benefits like parental leave and paid time off.
01:07They're policing how workers express their personal views even outside the office.
01:11They're demanding they return to their desks five days a week. And in this latest power grab,
01:16they're issuing new directives about what they should wear. The approach is a deliberate management
01:21style, but it is not a strategy for fixing real business problems. It can give the impression of order
01:26and discipline without actually delivering on either. Target executives have now given store
01:31managers the additional task of policing employees' wardrobes instead of focusing on initiatives that
01:37might actually improve the store, like keeping shelf stocked or checkout lines short. These rules
01:42are also a complete U-turn from the pre-pandemic days when a tight labor market compelled companies
01:46to project an employee-friendly image. Starbucks even used to let its employees wear a range of
01:51shirt colors and a hat that reflected their personal style to shine as individuals. You'd be hard-pressed
01:56to find a company making that kind of bring your whole self to work declaration today. Target needs
02:01employee buy-in to turn around the company. A good place to start would be restoring some of the
02:06autonomy companies have stripped away from frontline workers who had so little of it to begin with.
02:11An easy way to do that, let them wear what they want.
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