In the workforce, many wonder what factors affect motivation. Understanding what motivates a worker is key for a leader. Throughout the years, there have been several theories in print that talk about motivation. Most agree that when one is motivated, a situation is presented or developed that makes a person strive to do more.

To motivate others, there are several ways that you can use.

One way is through curiosity. If a worker is assigned a task that they find interesting, then they are more likely to finish their task and want to work more from there. They are learning as they are working, thus making them want to go onto the next task.

Through Challenges:A person is apt to be more motivated if they are working towards a meaningful goal whether it is at work or in their personal life. To achieve that goal, and to feel as if it was worth something, the task should be increasingly difficult for them to attain.

Through Control: Many individuals have the need to feel in control of what is going on in their lives. If they are presented with a cause and affect where a task is rewarded with a specific goal, then this is a way for them to be motivated

Through Competition: There comes a satisfaction when one compares themselves to another and sees that they are doing better in some aspect. This is a good way to motivate several people at once as they are in competition with one another. There are people, though, that are not motivated through competition and may actually demotivate them in the process.

Lastly, there is the recognition technique. Workers like to know when they do well. Once their goal is accomplished and they are recognized for their work, this makes them want to continue in doing more work. Their work should not be compared to another worker's, but should be able to receive its own reward standing alone.