As time goes by companies are facing new requirements that create the need for change. Conventional employee motivation methods are no longer adequate for new generations of young people who are entering the labour market. On the basis of this problem, this research focuses on the implications and influence of a democratic leadership style on employee motivation using the example of the Brazilian company Semco, as well as a convenience sample of employees from Croatian companies. The theoretical part of the paper explores and explains conventional methods of employee motivation and their features, and the most important leadership styles identified and their features are described. An example of good practice shows how the Brazilian company transformed the company’s business by introducing a democratic leadership style and the application of unconventional methods of employee motivation. In the empirical part of the paper a 41 question survey was conducted. The survey investigated employees’ opinions about their superiors or managers in Croatian companies. The survey investigated how superiors treat their associates, what kind of working conditions they provide for them, how they reward them, etc. After processing the results of the research conducted and comparison with the theoretical framework of motivation, it was confirmed that employees in Croatian companies in most cases assessed the activities of their superiors positively. It should be emphasized that there is room for improvement in all the explored segments. Considering that the research was conducted on an insufficiently representative sample, the research should be expanded by means of a larger sample in the future.