Work motivation of family and non-family employees at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) This thesis analyzes the difference in work motivation of family and non-family employees of small and medium-sized enterprises, the difference in work motivation of family and non-family employees at different hierarchical positions and differences in the perception of employee work motivation between managers and employees. The research problem was the unfamiliarity with peculiarities of motivation sources of family employees in relation to non-family employees and employees in higher compared to the ones in lower hierarchical levels, and the object of the research was the work motivation of different groups of employees in small and medium-sized family businesses of Varaždin County. In the theoretical part of the paper the available literature in the field of entrepreneurship, human resources and psychology was used, while in the empirical part interviewing and descriptive statistics were used. The survey covered a total of 22 owners of small and medium-sized companies and 72 employees of different hierarchical positions and different blood relations to the owner. Following the introductory part, studies of the theoretical aspects of motivation and identification of basic factors of motivation, it has been proven that family and non-family employees as well as employees of lower hierarchical positions are motivated by different factors of work motivation as well as that owners and employees perceive their work motivation differently. Results did not differ in all aspects of motivation, but some differences do exist.