Psychological factors and their influence on insider risk - Anger Rumination and Job Satisfaction

What is it about?

This research looks at why some employees might support or even consider acting on insider threats—harmful actions like leaking sensitive information or sabotaging their workplace. The study focused on two key psychological factors: how much a person dwells on angry thoughts (known as anger rumination) and how satisfied they are with their job. By surveying over 380 people using realistic workplace scenarios, the researchers found that people who often ruminate on anger were more likely to justify and consider insider actions. Those who were unhappy in their jobs were also more likely to feel resentful and see such harmful actions as acceptable, though they weren’t necessarily more likely to do them themselves. Importantly, anger rumination stood out as the strongest warning sign — people who obsess over anger were the most likely to imagine themselves carrying out insider threats. These findings suggest that understanding and addressing employees’ emotional wellbeing and workplace satisfaction could help organizations prevent insider security breaches before they happen.

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Photo by Collin on Unsplash

Photo by Collin on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Insider threats continue to be one of the most costly and difficult-to-detect risks facing organizations today. While most insider risk strategies focus on technical controls, this study offers a timely and unique psychological perspective by identifying two emotional drivers—anger rumination and job dissatisfaction—that significantly influence support for insider threats. Understanding these human factors helps organizations go beyond “bad apple” thinking and implement more proactive approaches. By highlighting anger rumination as a particularly strong warning sign, this research provides new insight for developing early-warning systems, wellbeing interventions, and psychologically informed insider risk assessments.

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