4 wellness trends impacting health care in 2021

COVID-19 has irrevocably altered the workplace, and paying attention to shifting wellness trends will be critical in 2021, according to MediKeeper, a leading provider of customizable wellness portals to employers, health care providers, insurance brokers, and third-party administrators.

The company identified four key wellness trends that it predicts will define the new year, via a five-page report that can be accessed here. The trends are intended to help companies adapt wellness programming to better connect with employees and drive engagement “in a very different environment to that of prior years.”

Related: Adapting employee wellness for the work-from-home era

Here are the four trends to watch, with insight from MediKeeper’s experts:

1. Dramatic shift to holistic wellness programming

Remote working is making the transition to a well-rounded program even more urgent, and the importance of emphasizing work-life balance as a key program feature will be critical in 2021.

2. Greater reliance on technology

Having a disparate workforce will force companies to rely on technology as the only means to monitor their employees’ health. Technology also will alter the manner in which wellness programming is delivered.

3. Back-to-work post-COVID planning

Companies will need to start planning now for how they will safely bring their employees back together, as well as create a back-to-work plan that addresses employee anxiety about returning and using technology to manage the process.

4. Reliance on business intelligence data

Companies should be preparing to spend significantly more time using data to gather insight into what their employees need from a wellness program. Then they will need to accurately use that knowledge to create a program that works for their specific group of employees.

“There is no doubt that this past year has tested people in ways that they never could have imagined, and the new year is likely going to continue to push people outside of their comfort zones while the world continues its fight against COVID,” the report’s authors wrote. “By planning ahead with these four trends in mind, you’ll be better prepared to handle the challenges of the upcoming year.”

The trends identified by MediKeeper were based on data generated from 70,000 client organizations, according to the company.

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