Krampus in the Office

You had all year to fix the broken system. You didn’t. You ignored the quiet warnings. You blamed burnout on laziness. You let the high performers carry the weight then acted surprised when they stopped showing up early or stopped speaking up at all.

Now it’s Krampus season. Not the charming peppermint-and-pine part of the holidays. The other side. The folklore side. The part where consequences finally come to collect. Not with chaos or yelling but with silence. With absence. With that resignation email that shows up with no warning and two weeks' notice, effective immediately. Krampus doesn’t carry coal. He carries clarity (and a birch switch). Every time you chose comfort over candor, every time you let a mediocre process fester because no one wanted to have the hard conversation he took notes.

He doesn’t always punish with fire. He punishes with mirrors. He shows you what you’ve built. What you’ve ignored. And what you’re left with now that the glue is gone. You’re not managing a team anymore. You’re managing ghosts. They’re still here, technically. But the spark is gone. The trust is gone. The sense of purpose? Dead and buried under months of being overlooked, overworked, and under-recognized.

You still have time. Time to rebuild before the lights go out completely. Time to listen - really listen - before the ones who still care decide it’s not worth it.

It’s time to ask: “What have I missed?” and be brave enough to hear the answer. Or you can keep pretending everything’s fine.

Just don’t be surprised when Krampus comes knocking.