Moving into 2021, there's widespread acknowledgment that the workplace–and what employees expect from it–has changed forever. We can expect larger consumer-focused trends in health care, like telehealth and patient-centered care, to begin spilling over into employees' benefits wish lists. As companies determine how to keep employees engaged during remote and hybrid 'work from home' models for the foreseeable future, the boundaries between work and home are increasingly blurred, and employees are looking to their employers for resources that go beyond traditional benefit offerings.

While COVID was a catalyst for telehealth, other major forces coming together will change how we consume health and wellness in the future. Offering virtual care has become a basic expectation, and may prove to be the easiest piece of this puzzle for employers to fulfill. Gen Z employees, as they enter the workforce, are also changing the dynamics of the health care system, and will be a game-changer for employers and benefit providers.