Stressed Employees Found More Likely to Ignore Security Risks
A Mindtools Kineo poll of 296 people across 33 countries links workplace stress to weaker cybersecurity habits.
Updated on Nov. 11, 2026 in Cybersecurity
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Do you think stress at work makes people more careless about security?
Mindtools Kineo released a poll finding that stressed employees are more likely to have weak cybersecurity habits. Stressed employees were more than twice as likely as their peers to leave a cybersecurity problem unaddressed, expecting someone else to resolve it.
Why it matters
Workload and job pressure can push urgent tasks ahead of warning signs, leaving organisations exposed to threats that staff notice but do not report. The findings suggest psychological safety at work may help employees flag suspicious activity and follow secure practices.
The survey of 296 people in 33 countries found 17.7% of stressed employees would keep working after spotting an unresolved security problem, compared with 8.2% of non-stressed employees. The poll did not establish whether the link between psychological safety and secure behaviour holds at high stress levels, where the relationship was not statistically significant.
The players
Mindtools Kineo
Mindtools Kineo is a workplace learning and performance company that publishes research and training content for organisations.
The details
The poll compared survey responses from employees rated as stressed against those rated as not stressed. Respondents also showed low concern about their own exposure, with 55% doubting their internet activity could expose confidential data and one in five doubting their device could be targeted by phishing.
Timeline
November 11, 2026: Article published on the poll findings about stressed employees and cybersecurity.
The Tech Race
The finding extends the psychological safety framework developed in Amy Edmondson's team research into security reporting, where staff reluctance to flag problems carries direct risk. It places human workload alongside technical controls as a factor in organisational cyber defence.
Employees who notice a security problem at work should report it rather than assume a colleague will handle it, since the poll found that expectation is more common under stress. Workplaces that encourage open reporting make it more likely that suspicious activity reaches the people who can act on it.
The takeaway
Stress reduces the likelihood that employees will report or act on security warnings, so reducing workplace pressure is part of cyber defence. Teams that feel safe raising concerns are better placed to catch problems early.
Further reading
For more on how staff habits shape digital defences, explore our Cybersecurity coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Personnel Today.
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Do you think stress at work makes people more careless about security?
