Now here comes a rulebreaker
You’ve probably seen the Ethical Excuses Bingo, crowdsourced on LinkedIn, below. My anecdotal experience of rule-breaking is that it’s overwhelmingly done “for the organisation.” The excuses 👇 echo that sentiment. But what about when we willfully and intentionally circumvent controls for “I” not “we” reasons?

There’s an expansive canon of research – much of which is challenged. Of course it is. It’s tough to replicate real-world stakes in study conditions. Sometimes, we don’t even know why we act as we do. But some themes do emerge.

Thrill-seekers: Breaking the rules can create a rush. It’s not all about adrenaline junkies; I remember an investigation where the fraudster’s life (grinding in a clerical role) was so crushing that he admitted the thrill of stealing provided a sense of meaning, feeling alive.

Injustice warriors: “The rules are rubbish; we must break them.” I’ve observed how (some) newer joiners to the workforce don’t respect confidentiality agreements, especially when the “greater good” is at stake (“exposing” bosses telling people not to ‘moan’, clumsy redundancy emails, etc.).

Normalised rule-breaking: I often hear this excuse for corruption: “It’s a way of life here.” That’s mainly BS, as most folks HATE the corruption where they live. I’m more interested in the “victimless crime” meme, from shoplifting to diddling expenses. In organisational settings, you’ll often find more creative teams or departments where breaking conventional boundaries is the currency of success, struggling with the mundanity of “pointless rules.”

Rationalisation: We judge our intentions to be good (e.g., caring for a sick relative) to normalise our actions (skipping work).

Power: “Sticking it to the man”. Breaking the rules is an assertion of your authority. Especially potent in situations where power is illusory.

I might offer up another reason to break the rules.

Assert individuality: I see this with my daughter. In a school system where cultural values and norms are becoming homogenous, breaking taboos makes you stand out. I see her friends quoting some of the more scandalous lines from SouthPark for shock value in response to teachers enforcing a form of monotheistic liberalism.

For organisations, investigators, compliance folks, and risk professionals, it helps to know where people are bored, angered, inured, disempowered, or patronised. Identifying these pockets isn’t as hard as you’d imagine – most folks already tell you (in employee surveys, etc.). We need to know how to read between the lines.