The Psychology of Compliance: Why Employees Ignore Rules (and How to Fix It)?

Let’s talk about something that keeps managers up at night: why do trustworthy, capable employees sometimes ignore the rules?

On the surface, it looks like laziness or rebellion. After all, you’ve put policies in place, held training sessions, and made expectations clear. Yet people still cut corners. The reality, however, is far more complex—and much more interesting.

A recent Gartner survey revealed that 87% of employees reported confusion about company policies within the past year. This isn’t about a few “bad apples.” It’s a systemic issue that organizations of all sizes face.

Most of the time, rule-breaking isn’t malicious. Researchers call it an intentional but non-malicious violation. In other words, employees choose to break a rule not to cause harm, but to do their jobs more effectively—whether that means meeting a deadline, helping a customer, or removing roadblocks.

Why Employees Break the Rules

If the intent isn’t destructive, what’s driving this behavior? Several psychological and cultural forces are at play:

1. Pressure and Practicality

Deadlines, stress, and unrealistic workloads often make rules feel like obstacles. In the moment, employees prioritize productivity over procedure. For example, one employee admitted skipping a cybersecurity step simply “to better accomplish tasks for my job.” The motivation wasn’t carelessness—it was urgency.

2. Social Influence

Behavior spreads quickly. Studies show that nearly half of employees would ignore impractical rules if they saw colleagues doing the same. Over time, “rule-breaking” can evolve into an unofficial workplace norm.

3. Confusing or Irrelevant Rules

Sometimes employees don’t even realize a rule exists, or the policy is buried in corporate jargon. When expectations are unclear, compliance naturally drops.

4. Complacency and Risk Habituation

If someone breaks a rule multiple times without consequences, they assume it’s safe to continue. This creates a dangerous cycle of complacency.

5. Low Morale and Fear

When employees feel disconnected or disempowered, they may stop caring about compliance altogether. Worse still, in cultures of fear, employees may prefer breaking rules to speaking up about flaws in the system.

The Cost of Ignoring Rules

Small violations can snowball into massive consequences.

• Safety Risks: A single OSHA violation can cost an organization upwards of $160,000.
• Cybersecurity Breaches: The Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, triggered by one compromised password, led to a $5 million ransom payment and nationwide disruption.
• Reputation Damage: Wells Fargo faced $185 million in fines after employees—pressured to hit sales targets—created millions of fake accounts. The reputational fallout was even more costly than the fines themselves.

Beyond fines and scandals, noncompliance erodes trust, fuels inefficiency, and creates hidden costs that weaken a company from within.

A Smarter Approach to Compliance

The old model of stricter rules and harsher punishments doesn’t work. Instead, organizations need a human-centered approach that emphasizes enablement over enforcement. Here’s a five-step framework:

1. Lead by Example
   Executives and managers must “walk the talk,” creating a culture where raising concerns feels safe.
2. Involve Employees in Rulemaking
   When employees help shape policies, those rules are far more practical and respected.
3. Explain the Why
   Training should go beyond listing rules. Use real-world examples to show why compliance matters.
4. Align Rewards with Values
   Don’t reward speed alone—recognize employees who achieve goals ethically and correctly.
5. Foster Accountability and Feedback
   Set clear consequences for violations, but also establish a process where employee feedback improves policies.

Compliance as a Partnership

The mindset shift is simple but powerful: stop asking, “How do we force compliance?” Instead, ask, “How do we make compliance easy?”

Enforcement relies on punishment and top-down control. Enablement builds trust, creates practical systems, and fixes problems before they spiral.

Ultimately, compliance is a human system—by people and for people. When companies design rules to support employees, employees will, in turn, support the rules.

Final Question for Leaders

Take a hard look at your workplace:
Are your rules designed to empower employees to work safely and ethically, or are they simply tools of enforcement?

The answer may determine not only compliance but also the long-term health of your organization.