I most certainly am not kidding you. You want to talk about motivation? How's a mortgage, a wife, a car payment and a kid on the way for motivation?
I'd take a job at McDonalds if that's what it took to keep my family afloat, and while I'm in a position where I do frequently enjoy the work, I've had plenty of jobs I didn't enjoy. Simply put, whether or not I'm having fun at any given moment isn't really relevant. Paying the bills is.
When you've only every worked on greenfield projects, or are working on a start-up who's only aim is to sell up before they explode, then yeah, code for fun. Just make sure that you're not expected to support it for 5+ years.
and
> who are we to say they are less happy
Well, it's fairly uncontroversial and trivial to my mind that a less boring workday makes for the happier employee, and happier employees make for happier people -- ergo, it can be safely said that to the same extent someone works a boring job, they are that much less happy than the person who works a non-boring job. It's not a matter of unjustified judgment at all -- who the hell doesn't want a job that instills a sense of self-fulfillment?
Are you fucking kidding me? Motivation isn't something you can just ignore. If you aren't motivated to work, you will eventually either stop working or hate your job. (Why would you keep doing something you don't want to do?)
Maybe if you're working with good people and getting paid well it'll be ok, but in that case you're relying on the people around you to motivate you. You will be less productive and less happy for 40 hours a week than people who honestly love the work itself.