The Psychology of Noncompliance and How to Design Better Behavior at Work

Everyone has broken a rule they knew they were supposed to follow. Maybe they clicked “Accept” without reading the policy, used a personal device for work, or shared a password "just this once" with a colleague. These actions are usually not driven by malice, but they still count as noncompliance.

In risk, security, and compliance, we tend to focus on policies, frameworks, and enforcement. But we do not talk enough about why people break rules even when they understand them. If we want safer, more resilient organizations, we need to stop blaming individuals and start designing systems that work with how people actually behave.

Our Brain Is Not Built for Policy

Most workplace rules assume people will make rational decisions, but psychology tells a different story. When employees are overwhelmed, they fall back on mental shortcuts and habits instead of careful reasoning. This is especially true during busy workdays when attention is scattered and the pressure to move quickly is high.

One key concept here is ego depletion. As people make decision after decision, their mental energy wears down. Eventually, decision fatigue sets in, and the brain begins choosing the path of least resistance. Instead of following a multi-step security protocol, someone might bypass it just to complete the task.

Even when the rules are clear, the brain gravitates toward options that are faster, easier, or more familiar, especially under pressure. The more complex or effortful the compliant choice is, the more likely people are to avoid it.

Compliance Often Feels Like a Hassle

Think about the last time a rule was ignored at work not because it was unclear, but because it got in the way. Maybe it added a few extra steps. Maybe it made the task harder. Or maybe it just felt like more effort than it was worth in the moment.

This is a common experience. In many workplaces, compliance is seen as something separate from the real work. It is an add-on, not a natural part of the job. And when rules create friction, people start looking for ways around them.

Logging into a secure system might take too long, so someone uses personal email instead. The approved file-sharing tool might be slow or difficult, so they turn to something quicker like Dropbox. These are not rare exceptions. They are typical examples of how people respond to systems that feel inefficient.

Psychologists call this friction bias: our tendency to avoid actions that feel unnecessarily effortful, even when we know they matter. It is not laziness. It is a sign that the system was not designed with real people in mind.

When compliance feels like a roadblock, people will naturally choose the easier path. And over time, that becomes the habit.

People Follow People, Not Rules

One of the strongest forces in human behavior is social proof. People tend to copy what others are doing, especially when they are under pressure.

In the workplace, this means the unofficial rules often carry more weight than the written ones. If a manager skips a required process, the team quickly learns that the rule is not important. If coworkers regularly share logins or skip security checks, that behavior becomes the new norm, even if it clearly goes against policy.

Culture has more influence than policy. When the environment signals that cutting corners is accepted or even rewarded, rule-breaking spreads quietly throughout the organization.

So What Can We Do About It?

Solving noncompliance is not just about stricter enforcement. It is about designing systems and cultures where doing the right thing feels natural and is also the easiest path.

Here are five ways organizations can start supporting better behavior:

1. Reduce friction
   If a process is slow, confusing, or hard to access, people will avoid it. Make the compliant option faster and simpler than the workaround. Invest in tools that make security and compliance feel seamless.
   
   

2. Use behavioral nudges
   Small interventions such as timely reminders or preset defaults can guide decisions more effectively than mandatory training sessions. Think of this as helping people in the moment, not just preparing them in advance.
   
   

3. Model the behavior
   When leaders consistently follow the rules, others are more likely to follow. If executives complete training on time, talk openly about data security, and use approved tools, those behaviors become part of the culture.
   
   

4. Design with empathy
   Ask employees what gets in their way. When rules are ignored, there is often a reason. Listen to frontline experiences to identify where systems are unclear, frustrating, or unrealistic. That feedback is a roadmap to better design.
   
   

5. Reframe compliance as protection
   Rather than treating compliance as a box to check or a burden to carry, show how it protects people, supports trust, and strengthens the business. A well-designed policy does more than control. It safeguards.

These recommendations are not complete solutions, and they will not provide a quick fix. But they offer a starting point for shifting how organizations think about compliance. It should not be seen only as a set of rules to enforce, but as a system that must align with how people actually behave.

Final Thought

Most people do not ignore rules because they are careless. They do it because the systems around them make it hard to follow the rules, or because the social and emotional signals suggest that it is okay to bend them.

If we want better compliance, we need to build systems that account for human behavior. That means less blame, more understanding, and smarter design.

Compliance works best when it feels natural, supported, and meaningful. It should not feel like an obstacle, but part of how people do their best work.