As a result of our ageing society, finding the right workforce and keeping it motivated successfully in the long term is becoming increasingly challenging and it is not any different in the field of agricultural research. The authors have carried out exploratory research in the subject of motivation at the workplace amongst the young researchers participating in the Researchers Recruitment Programme of the National Agricultural Research and Innovation Center. Our questions are: What social background do those who choose this scientific career path have? Which factors motivate young researchers to choose this profession and which factors discourage them? In this article, the authors seek to find the answers to these questions and reinterpret Herzberg’s theory by addressing the Y-generation agricultural researchers.