Direct learning and challenges

“Being able to continue learning throughout your career is very important.

At my work I am able to do that and it is very motivating”

“Being able to continue learning and developing my personal as well as work skills is very important when it comes to work motivation”

54 % 14 %

18 % 14 %

Importance to learn

1st 2nd 3rd 4th

“I always want to keep on improving the way I do things and I never want to stop learning, so yes at work it is very important in order to be

motivated”

Concrete learning was mentioned to be a motivator for nearly all of the participants. Many said that in order for learning as a motivator to be truly effective, employer organisation had to put in continuous efforts in offering them the ability to improve their skills and knowledge.

Individuals also thought that they wanted their employer to be innovative in the ways that they promoted learning. The participants whom had truly put thought into the matter also wanted their employer and the organisation to value their individual learning beyond the workplace, and to value their personal growth, which might one day even lead for them to utilize these learned skills and knowledge elsewhere. This was described to be extremely motivating due to the employer showing willingness to go far and beyond to ensure their employers had the best possible tools and skills to succeed as possible, even at the risk of losing them one day.

“As I said being able to challenge myself is the key to my work motivation, even though sometimes I feel like I’ve hit a wall and I can’t get any further.

I need to be able to take charge, have control over what I do. Conveyor belt type of work would be the worst”

“At work I am the kind of person who gives their 100% and who gets a kick out challenging myself and exceeding expectations.”

“I could not do a job which never felt challenging, because overcoming challenges then feels rewarding, and I think you need that”

Fifteen of the twenty-two Generation Y representatives felt that being able to challenge themselves at their job was a very clear motivator, which they were not willing to sacrifice.

Many of them also mentioned expressing themselves through their work as a motivator, which was in connection with challenging themselves. Even though many thought that the employer had the responsibility of making sure they had the possibility and the right work settings where to challenge themselves, few admitted that they themselves were just as much in charge when it came to making sure they were challenged at work, and felt motivated through this.

“My motivation has decreased a lot lately, which is really to do with not feeling challenged enough. I am very bored at work”

“I noticed my motivation getting much worse when the work I do stopped being challenging and stopped offering be the ability to learn and improve

things”

“I remember feeling so uninspired and like my hands were tied. I continuously asked for something new, for something challenging but nothing changed. Everyday when leaving work I just felt so empty, like I had achieved nothing the whole day, the whole week. I let it go on for too long, perhaps for the sake of money, but finally I just left and never looked

back”

Not feeling challenged at work was said to significantly decrease work motivation. Most participants had been in a job where they felt that they were not being challenged enough and where they felt like they had already seen it all. This had often resulted into finding new challenges through new work opportunities. As mentioned, being able to challenge oneself was an aspect which nearly all Generation Y interviewees were not willing to sacrifice for the sake of having a job which in other ways might have offered them satisfaction and fulfillment and they were ready to seek. Not feeling challenged led to decreased work motivation and also resulted into boredom, tiredness and overall unhappiness, which had an effect on ones life outside of work. Two of the participants described an event in their lives, where they had felt extremely unmotivated at work due to it not providing them with any ways of challenging themselves, which led to problems with their mental health and even had physical effects. Their work had provided them with fulfillment in relation to the other drives; to acquire, to bond and to defend. For example, they had motivating salaries, had even formed friendships through their work, had job security and even their views were in line with the organisation they worked for.

Despite there being many good aspects at their work, it did not make up for the fact that they felt stuck, uninspired and not challenged. These individuals eventually quit their jobs and chose to be unemployed until they found work which fulfilled their need for challenges.

“It is nice to learn new things and be able to improve and develop yourself, but I am not really there to challenge myself”

“I have no desire to leave my comfort zone. Sure being able to choose if you want learn new things is nice, but I like where I am, and I do not want anyone pushing me to do something I am not completely comfortable with. I

think it might even demotivate me rather than motivate”

Only one Generation Y representative, whom was interviewed, said that they did not have any desire to challenge themselves as work, and only thought of the possibility to learn general things at work to be “nice” but not having anything to do with their motivation. This individual did not want to leave their comfort zone in terms of work and was willing to do the same job for their entire life with the current prevailing conditions. Unlike the others, this person thought that someone offering them the possibility to challenge oneself was even demotivating due to the fact that it caused them severe stress and pressure.

“What probably motivates me the most is being able to express myself through my work. Also challenging myself, being able to learn and develop

are huge motivators”

“Being able to learn and challenge myself are very important when it comes to work motivation. People need to be able to have possibilities and be able to challenge themselves in order to feel dignity and for the work to

feel valuable for them as well”

“Being able to improve oneself and try new things, and be able to challenge oneself is so important, but challenges can also be rough, and too

much is too much”

“I feel like it’s relatively important that the work that you do offers the right setting for you to continue learning, developing and improving. But too much is too much in this area, because if you always feel like nothing is

good enough then it get exhausting and demotivating”

Work providing the Generation Y participants the right setting to learn and to challenge themselves proved to be highly important for their work motivation. It also was a clear boost for overall work satisfaction, which then would also increase motivation as a whole. The downside to this was though mentioned by four participants, whom felt that if the organizational and the general work atmosphere was overly competitive and required constant learning and even overcoming obstacles, it could result into stress and decreased motivation. The amount of challenges and requirements to ingest new information and to learn had to be in right balance in order for it to be motivating. When individual felt like they had to conquer new challenges constantly, there was no finishing line and nothing ever was enough it was demotivating.