As well as a realistic perception of risk, people need to be motivated to work safely. In general terms people at work are motivated by:

* Skill variety – not having to do the same thing all day every day;
* Task significance – feeling their job is making a difference;
* Task identity – understanding how their contribution fits in to the bigger picture;
* Autonomy – having some control over how they do their task;
* Task feedback – getting information that they are doing their job well.

These can present a challenge to health and safety. In particular, the desire for variety and autonomy can lead to people deviating from laid down procedures. Also, if people do not perceive the risks to be high, some of the activities they do for safety can seem to have little significance.