Examining attitudes towards cybersecurity compliance through the lens of the psychological contract

Abstract

This research proposal defines the aim to explore the perceptions and experiences of employees through a global pandemic. In an exploratory qualitative study, utilising thematic analysis, the intention is to take an interpretivist position to examine participants' accounts of working from home during a pandemic, by looking through the psychological contract (Rousseau, 1996a) lens to better understand this phenomenon. This research serves to offer a potential line of enquiry when it comes to the human factors of cyber and information security behaviour and any themes which may overlap with psychological contract breaches (PCB). Previous research has suggested that the psychological contract can impact on employee commitment towards their organisations (Jabeen, Behery and Hossam, 2015), and employees' attitudes towards cyber security affect the frequency in engaging in risky online behaviours, (Hadlington, 2018), this study aims to draw out any themes around these areas through semi-structured interviews with employees in a global law firm.