In November 2023, mediKeeper released a study on the Key Wellness Trends for 2024. The health of people at work has never been more important than it is right now. External issues impacting the health of workers today, both physically and mentally, are related to both global and local factors.
Globally we are dealing with climate change, conflict, rising fascism, authoritarianism, and attacks on democracy.
Locally we have high inflation, a housing crisis, a bitter political divide, and those same attacks on democracy. Millennials, those born between about 1981 and 1996 now make up over 50% of the workforce, and along with their Generation Z colleagues, will be the first generations that will not have the same life expectancy as those generations to come before.
Add in the fact that these generations may never be able to afford to own their home and the situation is even more bleak. Birth rates for those in these generations are tumbling, and who could blame them given the outlook? At the same time, inflation of food and shelter costs put many at risk of not earning a living wage as compensation has not kept pace with the rate of inflation.
Internally, stress, anxiety, and depression levels are at all-time highs, and other individual chronic health issues, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, chronic pain, and musculoskeletal conditions commonly impact people at work. These invariably drive up costs and work disability rates, as well as absenteeism and decrease productivity for employers, particularly those that are self-funded, as well as health plans alike.
All these issues coalesce into creating workplaces that continue to be ripe for disruption as employers focus on attracting, recruiting, and retaining the best and brightest, and appropriate health and productivity benefits are crucial to that strategy. Retaining the right people, while protecting and promoting their health are key business drivers common to successful organizations.
As we have done in years past, we have met with employers and health plans, reviewed market and health trend analysis data, published research evidence, and reflected upon some of my recent conference keynote presentations and plenary sessions to focus on predicting what is around the corner.
We at MediKeeper anticipate the following key trends for 2024, many of which are related to one another, and to a positive employee health experience as well as a more supportive working environment:
- Engagement Doesn’t Matter
- Employee Burnout Is Not Going Away Anytime Soon
- Artificial Intelligence Will Have an Even Greater Impact
- Remote and Hybrid Work Will Be Coveted by Employees
- The 4-Day Work Weeks’ Time Has Come
You can read the entire Key Wellness Trends for 2024 report here.
RESOURCES:
Our 2023 employee wellness trends were very accurate, and we believe the ones for 2024 should certainly be or continue to be on every employer or health plans’ list of emerging issues that should be addressed and serve as foundational for a healthy and successful 2024.
- Click here to read the 2023 report.
- Click here to read the 2022 report.
- Click here to read the 2021 report.
News report: Burnout and AI Among Leading Wellness Trends in 2024 in HRA Today
