Keep On Keeping On

Whether showing up to work means walking into the lounge room or commuting to an office, there must be something to inspire Gen Y-ers to stay on the job. So other than keeping the pay cheques coming in, what motivates us to keep working?

For the large part, our motivations are all the factors that keep our jobs satisfying: the challenge of difficult work and the satisfaction that comes with a job well done. Matheson says his biggest motivation is "the end goal . . . just to see particular jobs get finished. I like to see things finished".

Viney says that the challenge involved with problem solving is what keeps him going. "Each day presents a range of little problems that you need to try and resolve for your client base," he says. "I get a lot of satisfaction out of fixing a problem and drastically fixing it so it doesn't continue in the future."

Carmichael says his three main motivations are "to enjoy myself, to expand my knowledge of people, places and things, and to basically provide the best possible service that I can".

More practically, Gen Y-ers are motivated by the need to get things done. A little pressure can indeed be a good thing. Just as rating job satisfaction highly doesn't mean we need to be kept constantly entertained, it also doesn't mean we need, or even want, an entirely stress-free job.

"Maybe deadlines and pressure are the things that motivate us the most," Monash's Bernard says.