Performance Improvement Plans Are Just HR Fanfiction
By Ken Hollow, reluctant protagonist in HR’s tragic novella Performance Improvement Plans — or PIPs, if you want to make them sound like a snack…
All Guides
Tech Guides by Ken Hollow
Every tech question you've been too embarrassed to ask, answered in plain English.
Burnout Diaries
Burnout Diaries
Project Deadlines Are Just Fictional Dates
By Ken Hollow, unwilling time traveler through calendar chaos Project deadlines are fictional. They’re not based on reality, resources, or reason. They’re dates picked out…
Burnout Diaries
Expense Reports Are Just Bureaucratic Fanfiction
By Ken Hollow, unwilling author of receipt novels Expense reports are the worst kind of creative writing: bureaucratic fanfiction. You take mundane events — a…
Fox Files
Nana Wants a Reality Competition Show
By Ken Hollow, unwilling producer of cursed television Because a late-night talk show wasn’t chaotic enough, Nana now wants a reality competition show. Yes. A…
Fox Files
Nana Wants a Late-Night Talk Show
By Ken Hollow, reluctant stagehand in velvet purgatory Nana has decided she deserves a late-night talk show. Not a podcast. Not a livestream. A full-on…
Burnout Diaries
KPIs for Life: How Management Wants to Quantify Your Soul
By Ken Hollow, unwilling data point in HR’s experiment Corporate obsession with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) has reached a new low: they’re no longer content…
Burnout Diaries
Return-to-Office Is Just Nostalgia for Micromanagement
By Ken Hollow, reluctant commuter in pajama pants The great promise of remote work was freedom: no commute, no awkward breakroom small talk, no boss…
Burnout Diaries
OKRs Are Just New Year’s Resolutions With Graphs
By Ken Hollow, reluctant goal-setter and spreadsheet victim Every January, normal people lie to themselves with New Year’s resolutions: “I’ll run every day. I’ll stop…
Burnout Diaries
Office Jargon Is Just a Fantasy Language Pack
By Ken Hollow, reluctant translator of corporate Elvish Corporate jargon is less communication and more spellcasting. Nobody actually knows what half of it means, but…
Burnout Diaries
Corporate Security Training Is Just a Phishing Simulator
By Ken Hollow, unwilling trainee in email paranoia Corporate security training is the modern workplace’s favorite pastime. Not because it works, but because it wastes…