The study of work motivation focuses on understanding why individuals pursue particular activities at work as well as the
amount of effort exerted and duration of persistence in pursuing activities over time. Work motivation research attempts to
understand how individuals allocate their limited resources to competing demands at work, describing when and why
specific activities are pursued. In this article, we elaborate on the role of goals as a central organizing mechanism through
which motivated action is observed and discuss a variety of approaches aimed at understanding motivated behavior at work