Is there an alternative to "the quality of something being..."?

Question

I've just talked to my friend in English.

Him: What's more important: the people you work with or the work that you are doing?
Me: I think the quality of the work being interesting is more important.

I meant to say that the "interesting-ness" (I don't think this is a real word) of the work is more important, but since I didn't know what noun to use, I went for the above phrase. I think it's not the best way to express it, but it's pretty easy to complete the sentence because you can just replace "interesting" with any adjective, even if you don't know the noun.

So, is the structure above idiomatic? If not, how should I say it?

Answer 1

When you’re looking for a word or term but can’t find it, it’s always a good idea to bear in mind the option of rearranging the sentence. Here one possibility is

I think it’s more important that the work be interesting.

Answer 2

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe removing "the quality of" also works, i.e.

I think the work being interesting is more important.

Might not be what you are looking for, but it's one way to be more succinct or, at the very least, add variety.

Answer 3

"The quality of the work being interesting" is not good. The quality itself is not interesting. Rather, "interesting" is a quality of the work. Work can be interesting or uninteresting.

Idiomatic would be:

The work has to be interesting.

The work must be interesting.

Since you are talking about a hypothetical situation, you can also say:

To me, it is more important that the work be interesting.

Answer 4

The word interestingness is fully right but not common (sources: vocabulary.com, Merriam-webster)

Feel free to use it in conversations.