When you wake up first thing on Monday morning, what motivates you to get up out of your comfortable bed and face the day?

Is it exciting social plans after work with the people that you care about? Is it the mesmeric countdown until your next tropical vacation or break from the daily work grind? Or is the passion, excitement and satisfaction that you get when you sit down at your desk each and every morning with a fresh cup o' joe, ready to take on the day?

Work takes up a pretty large chunk of our lives (the average person spends around 90,000 hours at work over their entire lifetime). So it would only make sense that we are spending these long work hours doing a job that we are passionate about and fully satisfied by, wouldn't it? Unfortunately, only about 27% of employees admit that they are "very satisfied" in their jobs, while the rest still crave something more.

So what exactly are the other 73% of employees looking for in a dream job that will leave them fulfilled and content? It's not common job factors that you might expect, such as a fancy job title, but rather matchless qualities that cultivate happy employees:

1. Passion

There is no better employee than a person who is passionate and excited about the work they are creating. In fact, passion is what fuels companies and what helps take them from an idea to a fully functioning business. During Google for Entrepreneurs Startup Grind event with Hello Innovation, our CEO, Joey Joachim, stated: "We surround ourselves every single day with things that we're passionate about. When you do that, you're not working." And that's true!

While passion doesn't always ensure success, it certainly helps. It's passion that gives you the extra energy that is needed when you are a budding entrepreneur, allows you to fight through difficult days, and makes the reward of success that much more satisfying. After all, a job without passion is just a long, dull day of work.

2. Challenging work

Some people may find comfort in jobs that require you to do the same thing day in and day out. A job where your assignments are the same, your work day is the same, and you never have to branch out of your comfort zone. However, a job that is truly satisfying shouldn't be something that is comfortable—it should be something that constantly challenges you, pushes you further and makes you step outside of that boring comfort zone. Why? Because it will make you a happier, more fulfilled employee in the long run. Satisfaction doesn't always lie in stagnation.

3. A fair balance between work and personal life

Even the most passionate and dedicated employees still need a break from the stress and difficulties that come with the daily 9 to 5 grind. And we're not just talking about an extra-long lunch hour or a break away from the desk at the Hello Innovation signature ping pong table.

Vacation days and regular breaks from work can help to rejuvenate your mind when you feel like you just can't stuff anymore information in. Even an extra long weekend can leave you feeling refreshed when you finally do come back to the office. It is these reasons why some of the most satisfied, happy employees are ones that have found a healthy balance between work and their personal life.

4. Strong company culture

When it comes to the success and growth of a company, company culture is very powerful. Do you trust the people you are working with? Do you feel like your company truly values your contributions and your opinions? These factors make up an overall company culture, and the culture that is created as a result can make or break a business.  This is why it's so important that employees are united in their values and ideas of success. Here at Hello Innovation, we value strong company culture more than anything. In fact, when asked what the secret was to building a great company culture, our CEO, Joe Joachim, revealed, "Talent, mixed with passion and the right people... it's everything."

5. The opportunity to work with passionate, talented co-workers

It's always rewarding to feel as though you are good at what you do and that your hard work is contributing to something bigger than yourself. However, getting to tackle the challenges of the workplace alongside a team of talented, kick a$% team members that you respect and admire? There are few things that are better for an employee! Plus, working closely with talented co-workers helps to keep you on your A-game and inspire you to be better at your own job.

6. Enticing benefits and perks

While younger employees just entering the workplace may place a large value on compensation, the majority of working professionals are far more concerned with a good lifestyle that includes fair benefits and unique employee perks. For instance, attractive vacation packages that allow employees to spend quality time with their family, or a health plan that shows that their employers care about the well-being of the people they have working alongside them. Unique employee benefits that are outside the norm (such as Hello Innovation's flexible working hours, monthly Tech Talks and weekly fitness classes for employees, to name a few) also help to encourage employee satisfaction in the workplace.

7. Learning opportunities

Work is a never-ending learning process, no matter what industry you're in. Keeping up-to-date with what is happening in your field not only ensures that you remain a go-to expert on what's happening in your industry, but also that you have all of the tools and knowledge you need to do your job the best you can. After all, you know what they say—knowledge is power! In fact, here at Hello Innovation, we believe that staying on top of the latest industry happenings is so important that we encourage all of our employees to check out different conferences happening in their industry.

Are you looking for a job that will leave you feeling satisfied at the end of the work day?

Hello Innovation is building up our team of talented employees, and we're looking for rockstars that crave all of the above job qualities.Intrigued? Be sure to check our job listings to jump start your satisfying career with Hello Innovation.