To be motivated means to be willing to exert an effort to achieve something. A person who feels no interest to act is characterized as unmotivated; on the opposite, someone who is energized to achieve a goal, to do something, is considered motivated.

There are three main types of work motivation: extrinsic, intrinsic and prosocial (Deci & Ryan, 1985). People who are motivated by extrinsic factors seek external rewards for their job, such as salary increases, promotions, and recognition. Those motivated by intrinsic factors are moved by the work itself and feel rewarded by performing the activity even “in the absence of operationally separable consequences” (Deci, 1976, p. 12). Finally, prosocially-motivated people perform actions that make a difference to other people's lives (Grant, 2007). Within prosocial motivation, there is one specific type of motivation that has been named as family motivation. See the definitions below.

Extrinsic motivation

Extrinsic motivation refers to doing something because it leads to a separable outcome –such as: status and rank, wealth, property, earning capacity, and social reputation.

Family motivation

Family motivation is a potent form of prosocial motivation, as employees are more likely to be concerned about the wellbeing of their own families than that of any other group of people (Burnstein et al. 1994). Within the context of family motivation, close dependents of the employee (e.g., spouse or children) represent important motivational drivers, however the concept of family motivation may also include extended members of the family related by biological ties or social custom. Relatedly, previous studies have shown that, supporting the family is one of the main reasons for people to work). Furthermore, recent research has found that family motivation may compensate for lower levels of intrinsic motivation and trigger enhanced work performance by providing energy to the employee (Menges et al., 2017).