A New Kind of Workforce Is Reshaping Corporate Health Benefits 

For decades, corporate health plans were built with one type of employee in mind: full-time, salaried, on-site, and working a 9-to-5 schedule.  

But that’s no longer today’s workforce.

From warehouse staff and retail associates to hybrid tech teams and gig economy professionals, the workforce has diversified — and so have their healthcare needs. Employers are realizing that access, equity, and convenience must be built into benefit design from the ground up. The shift is already underway — and hourly and hybrid workers are leading the charge.

Labor Trends Are Redefining Priorities

In 2025, hourly workers make up nearly 60% of the U.S. workforce, and the number of hybrid or remote jobs continues to rise across industries. This growing segment faces unique care barriers:

• Unpredictable or off-hours schedules
• Limited access to local providers (especially in rural areas)
• Lack of paid time off for doctor visits
• Low digital literacy or language accessibility challenges

These factors don’t just create care gaps — they create engagement gaps, where benefits go unused, and outcomes suffer.

In response, employers are shifting toward portable, accessible, and frictionless care options that meet workers where they are.

DEI, Retention, and the Push Toward Equity

Health equity has become more than a buzzword — it's a retention and compliance issue. HR leaders now recognize that benefits must reflect the lived experience of their entire workforce, not just a privileged few.

When healthcare access is limited by shift time, zip code, or device type, it perpetuates disparities that hurt both employees and employers. Research shows that when employees have equitable access to care, employers see:

• Reduced absenteeism
• Increased job satisfaction
• Improved productivity and engagement
• Lower healthcare costs from early interventions

Virtual care, especially when available at $0 cost to members, is proving to be a powerful lever in this movement toward benefits equity.

Virtual Care: Built for Access, Affordability, and Equity

Virtual care doesn’t just offer convenience — it removes systemic barriers:

• No travel time or wait rooms
• Available 24/7 for shift workers and busy caregivers
• Delivered at $0 cost to eliminate financial hesitation
• Accessible from any device, no app required
• Language-inclusive and culturally sensitive options

These capabilities turn benefits into tools employees actually use, rather than check-the-box offerings. Employers that adopt inclusive virtual care see increased utilization, stronger ROI, and a workforce that feels seen and supported.

What This Shift Can Look Like for Real People at Work

To understand why hourly and hybrid workers are reshaping benefits expectations, it helps to imagine how care access could fit into everyday life:

• A warehouse employee finishing a late shift notice flu symptoms but connects with a doctor that night instead of waiting days—or driving across town—when clinics reopen.
• A hybrid employee juggling work and caregiving responsibilities schedules a quick virtual primary care visit without rearranging meetings or taking time off.
• A hospitality worker in a high-stress role reaches out for short-term mental health support without worrying about cost, wait times, or whether a local provider is available.

In each of these moments, care doesn’t interrupt work or life, it adapts to it.

These situations reflect the daily realities many employees face when benefits are built around fixed schedules, physical locations, or outdated assumptions. When healthcare meets people where they are—on their time, in their space—it becomes easier to use, easier to trust, and far more effective.

That’s why employers are rethinking how benefits are designed. Not to add more options, but to make access feel human, flexible, and equitable for everyone.

What “Whole Workforce” Virtual Care Actually Looks Like

If your corporate health benefits only serve your office staff, you’re missing the majority of your workforce — and the ROI that comes with accessible care.

Get the Run Down

The Future of Benefits Is Now 

If your health benefits still assume a 9-to-5, desk-based employee, it's time to rethink your approach. Hourly and hybrid workers are demanding better — and they're influencing industry-wide change. 

It’s not about more benefits. It’s about benefits that work for everyone. 

Start building a benefits plan that works for everyone 

• Virtual Primary Care 
• Virtual Mental Health 
• Virtual Wellness Specialist Care 
• Virtual Urgent Care