The Holiday Freeze: A Monument to Our Own Fragility
Why do we lock down our systems in December? Because deep down, we know we built a house of cards.
It is officially that time of year.
The decorations are up. The “Best of 2025” Spotify wrappers are dropping. And across the corporate world, IT Directors are sending out the sacred, terrifying email:
SUBJECT: Q4 CODE FREEZE EFFECTIVE DEC 15.
If you are new to the industry, a “Code Freeze” sounds responsible. It sounds like a prudent measure to ensure stability during the holidays so payroll runs smoothly while we are all drinking eggnog.
But if you work in the Department of First Things First, you know what a Code Freeze actually is:
It is an admission of failure.
It is us looking at our multi-million dollar Workday tenant, our integrations, and our governance process, and saying: “Honestly? We don’t trust this thing enough to touch it while the support team is on PTO.”
Today, we are going to talk about why we freeze, the chaos it causes, and why the “Freeze” is actually the perfect time to fix the mess we made.
The “Jam-In” Phenomenon
The irony of the Code Freeze is that it causes the exact instability it is supposed to prevent.
In the two weeks leading up to the freeze, human behavior takes over. Stakeholders who have been ignoring your emails since March suddenly realize that if they don’t get their custom compensation report Right Now, they have to wait until January.
So, instead of a calm, gradual decline in work, we get The Jam-In.
It’s like watching passengers try to board a Spirit Airlines flight with “one personal item.” They are shoving oversized bags into the overhead bin, sitting on suitcases to make them zip, and begging you to just “squeeze this one little integration in” before the doors close.
And because we are recovering “Yes People,” we let them.
We push risky config (or worse, integration code) on December 14th at 4:59 PM. Then we lock the doors, turn off our phones, and pray that the ghost of configurations past doesn’t haunt us on Christmas Morning.
Why are we so scared?
We freeze because our systems are fragile.
In a perfect world, a world the “Pragmatic Futurist” dreams of - we would have automated testing. We would have CI/CD pipelines that catch errors before they hit production. We would be like Amazon or Netflix, who deploy code thousands of times a day, even on holidays.
But we aren’t Netflix. We are HR Tech.
We have BIRT reports held together by duct tape. We have integrations that only run successfully if the moon is in the waxing gibbous phase. We have a “Process” that is really just “Ask Dave,” and Dave is in the Poconos sitting in a 80’s themed heart-shaped hot tub with no cell service.
The Freeze is our security blanket. It’s us saying, “If nobody moves, nothing breaks.”
The Kitchen Table Reality
I tried to implement a “Code Freeze” at home this week.
My son, Justin (11), has discovered the algorithm-fueled chaos of short-form video. In an effort to ensure “familial stability” over the holidays, I suggested a “Content Freeze.” No new apps. No new creators. Just steady-state operations until the New Year.
Justin: “So... you’re banning innovation?”
Me: “I am mitigating risk, Justin. I don’t want to spend Christmas debugging your iPad because you clicked a link promising free Robux.”
Justin: “This feels like a lack of trust in the end-user.”
Me: “Correct. I have zero trust in the end-user. The end-user set a virtual Ferrari on fire in a cornfield last week.”
He has a point, though. A freeze is a lack of trust. I so hate it when 11 year-olds are right…
How to Thaw (The Strategy)
So, if you are currently in a freeze, what should you actually be doing?
Do not just sit there. The Freeze is the only time of year the noise stops. The “Jam-In” is over. The stakeholders are skiing. The ticket queue is quiet.
If you’re not the one sipping eggnog by a fire for 10 days, use this time for Tech Debt.
Documentation: Document that one integration that keeps breaking. You know the one. The one that keeps you up at night. Write down how it works so that when Dave retires, you aren’t doomed.
Deprecation: Go through your calculated fields. Find the ones named CF_Calc_Field_TEST_DO_NOT_USE_v2 and delete them.
The “Why” Audit: Look at your backlog. How many of those tickets are “Solutions looking for a Problem”? Delete them.
The Takeaway
If you have PTO, enjoy your Freeze. You earned it. Drink the eggnog. Watch the Eagles (hopefully) not collapse (Really guys, 2023 again? Either we go to the big one or collapse at the end of the season. Pick a lane Nick, pick a lane).
But when we come back in January, let’s make a resolution. Let’s build a system sturdy enough that next year, we don’t have to be so afraid to touch it.
Let’s build a system that doesn’t need to be frozen to be safe.
— Mike
Director HR Tech | Administrator of the Household Freeze
P.S. Justin has successfully negotiated a “Emergency Change Request” process for his content freeze. If a YouTuber drops a “Banger,” he is allowed to submit a ticket (email me) for review. I have currently rejected 100% of his tickets. Governance is working.
(Mark Rober gets an immediate exception though. C’mon Mark, drop another squirrel video!)