Abstract: Motivated employees are key factors that give companies a competitive advantage. By determining the best way to encourage and improve the performance of employees in organizations, management ensures the success of their company in the market. Adapted employee motivation, i.e. the best incentive for each individual employee, is what brings the organization closer to achieving its goals and objectives. This paper focuses on the employee motivation issue, that is, on determining the merits of intrinsic or extrinsic factors in employee motivation. The paper analyzed several studies that dealt with the influence of internal and external motivation factors on work performance.