The Right Way to Manage Rule Breakers

June 16, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In a 2023 global survey, 65% of employees reported observing misconduct at work, up from 60% three years earlier. In the United States, more than half of workers said they had seen rule breaking. These numbers come from the Ethics and Compliance Initiative, and they frame the central problem that Michael Gill, an associate professor at Oxford Saïd Business School, addresses in his research synthesis of more than 250 studies across four decades. The problem is not simply that rule breaking is common—it is that leaders almost always default to punishment, which misreads the situation and makes things worse.

The Four Motivations for Rule Breaking

Gill’s core contribution is a framework that organizes why people break rules into four distinct categories. The first and most familiar is self-interested rule breaking: fudging expenses, bypassing approvals to get a bonus, or any violation done for personal gain. This is the type most managers assume is happening whenever a rule is broken.

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What you'll learn

1 (00:07) **Episode Introduction & Guest Setup** - Michael Gill and Alison Beard introduce the topic of rule breaking in organizations, with Michael explaining his personal rule-breaking to open the episode.
2 (01:34) **The Scope of the Problem** - Evidence shows rule breaking is common and on the rise, with 65% of employees globally observing misconduct in 2023, up from 60% in 2020.
3 (04:04) **The Four Types of Rule Breaking** - Michael introduces the core framework: four distinct motivations for why people break rules.
4 (06:34) **The Biggest Mistake Leaders Make** - The default assumption that all rule breaking is self-interested and should be punished.
5 (07:28) **How to Discern Motivation Before Reacting** - The core advice is to ask and try to understand "why" before punishing.
6 (08:33) **How to Notice Patterns in Rule Breaking** - Managers should create psychologically safe forums for employees to share why they break rules.
7 (09:38) **Responding Based on Motivation** - The response should match the diagnosis, ranging from punishment to compassion.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Most leaders assume that when employees break rules, punishment is the answer. But according to researcher Michael Gill, associate professor at the University of Oxford Saïd Business School, that mindset overlooks a crucial reality: not all rule breaking is self-serving, and some of it may actually help organizations perform better. He explains his research synthesizing more than 250 studies and details the four main motivations behind why people break rules, why repeated violations may signal deeper organizational problems, and how leaders can distinguish harmful misconduct from employees trying to help customers, colleagues, or the business itself. Learn more in the HBR article How the Best Leaders Respond to Rule Breaking.