Wellbeing is the current term replacing “wellness.” Sometimes referred to as “total wellbeing,” it has a more holistic ring to it, taking the full employee – the whole person – into account. However, most of what we’re seeing enter the market are apps addressing one dimension of employee wellbeing. Here’s the thing about wellbeing for employers: it isn’t one-size-fits-all for your employee base. On any given day, or even at any given time, an employee may need more insights or help in any of the areas where wellbeing can help and the response from the tech community has been largely to approach the challenge with one-dimensional apps.

We have too many apps that we’re pushing into the workplace – and employee wellbeing is one of the areas where apps are proliferating. For tech vendors to sustain growth with employers, and more importantly for employers to offer their employee population wellbeing options that adapt to the realities of life and work, both constituencies need to move toward a platform.

Mental wellness, physical wellness, financial wellness, career wellness apps and more are flooding the market directly to employers and through insurance broker channels. The future of wellbeing in the enterprise is shifting to more of a platform/marketplace that offers employers the ability to curate the wellness offerings that suit their culture, demographics, regions, and budgets. Perhaps even putting the employee in control with dollars allocated to spend. We saw this begin to emerge with Lifeworks. We now expect to see acquisitions and “roll ups” in this new marketplace category along with emerging startups focused on the approach.

We see employee wellbeing in the benefits category, and being budgeted as such by employers. These apps are viewed in support of elective benefits, and with myriad possible outcomes. Once a marketplace is established, employers can use employee behaviors, sentiment or direct employee input to guide the employee on a path to wellness.

A platform crossing the spectrum of wellbeing (emotional, physical, financial and professional needs) will help avoid exhausting employees with an onslaught of apps, and in return gives an employer back a more holistic view of the state of wellness in their firm.

Look for vendor consolidation in this space as startups band together and get acquired by others. Also, look for benefits brokers and HCM platforms to develop or purchase the features and then embed them into their employee experience offering.
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Originally published in the HRWins MarketWatch Newsletter

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