Employee Motivation Employee motivation is the level of energy, commitment, and creativity that a company's workers bring to their jobs. Whether the economy is growing or shrinking, finding ways to motivate employees is always a management concern. Competing theories stress either incentives or employee involvement (empowerment). Employee motivation can sometimes be particularly problematic for small businesses. The owner has often spent years building a company hands-on and therefore finds it difficult to delegate meaningful responsibilities to others. Source for information on Employee Motivation: Encyclopedia of Small Business dictionary.