The purpose of this final paper is to determine the importance of content theories of motivation in today’s modern business and how they can help and improve employee motivation in the workplace. The aim of this research is to define the applicability of substantive theories of motivation and to see which motivational factors, determined according to Herzberg’s twofactor theory of motivation, are the most influential in business practice in the Republic of Croatia. The inductive and deductive method, the method of analysis and synthesis, the method of description and compilation, and the comparative method were used for the purpose of creating the paper, while for the purposes of empirical research, the method of systematic review of the literature and the method of tabular presentation were needed. Content theories of motivation are focused on discovering and classifying the needs that drive a person to act in a certain way. In this paper, the content theories of motivation from Maslow, Alderfer, McClelland, McGregor and finally Herzberg will be presented. The results of the research of a selected sample of eight final, diploma and professional theses indicate a relatively low motivation of employees in the Republic of Croatia and a lack of motivation according to the needs of the higher order. In conclusion, the results contradict the premises of Herzberg’s theory and point to the need for reaction and greater effort on the part of managers. This paper serves as a good education for all managers, entrepreneurs and human resource managers and as a guide for potential new research that also examines the frameworks of employee motivation and the importance of content theories of motivation.