When Trust Breaks, Free Will Decides: How the Psychological Contract Shapes Insider Threat and Cyber Security Compliance

Why do employees sometimes go above and beyond to protect their organisation — and other times bend rules, ignore policies, or disengage from security altogether?In this episode, Pentagram Advisory explores the role of the psychological contract — the unwritten expectations of trust and fairness between employer and employee — and how its breakdown fuels insider threats. Drawing on research from the University of Warwick, we unpack why technical controls alone aren’t enough, how to recognise early signs of a breach, and what leaders can do to repair trust before it escalates into a security risk.For leaders, executives, and practitioners, this is a reminder that the deciding factor in insider threat is rarely opportunity — it is choice. And choice is shaped by trust.