Britain’s smallest employers are becoming some of the most meaningful, satisfying workplaces.

While much of the labour market has cooled, small and micro-businesses continue to stand out. Employment Hero’s Employment Uncovered data shows SME employment grew by 2.6% in September 2025 – the strongest monthly rise in a year – with full-time roles up 2.1%. ONS figures show similar trends. Micro businesses are the only employer size group where vacancies have not shrunk, suggesting that new job creation is happening primarily in workplaces with fewer than 10 staff. 

But it’s not just about the vacancies. Many small workplaces tend to offer more autonomy, varied responsibilities and day-to-day flexibility – partly because small teams require employees to wear multiple hats. As outlined in reports such as the CIPD’s Good Work Index, these qualities are strongly associated with higher job satisfaction. For many people, especially those tired of rigid corporate structures, that’s becoming increasingly attractive.

At The Olive Branch Café in Easingwold, North Yorkshire, owner Jordan Jones has seen firsthand why small-team workplaces appeal to so many people since opening his business in 2017.

“I’d worked in hospitality all my life since I was 16 and was working for corporate companies before that,” he says. “I just got to the stage where I thought, actually, I want to do this for myself; it was more about a way of life than the rat race.”

Running a micro-team has its pressures, but it also creates a closeness that’s impossible to replicate in bigger businesses. Jordan describes it as “having fantastic people who are passionate. You build boundaries, of course, but you do become friends and you’ve got each other’s back a lot more than in the corporate world.” 

In tiny teams, employees see directly how their work contributes to success. As he puts it: “If their hard work is part of the business success – without them, the business can’t be a success. In a small company, that individuality and passion is the difference between the doors open and the doors not.”

Those dynamics make small businesses appealing – but they don’t exempt them from the labour market challenges facing their sectors. Nowhere is this clearer than in hospitality. Employment Hero’s recent analysis shows the industry has lost 59,000 workers compared to the previous year, and many businesses report difficulty filling roles, particularly in kitchens.

That tallies with Jordan’s experience. Recruitment, he says, has become “an impossible task these days. People just don’t necessarily want to work as much – especially kitchen roles, it’s really, really hard.” 

To cope, he’s had to adapt how he hires and retains staff. “I’ve had to be a lot more flexible with what staff are willing to do… and a lot more accommodating with time off or not working every weekend,” he explains. “It’s about keeping the team happy, because recruitment is such a challenge.”

That flexibility is one of the reasons small businesses are increasingly attractive to jobseekers. While larger employers struggle to restructure roles or accommodate individual needs, small teams can adjust schedules quickly, redesign responsibilities and shape roles around people rather than processes. For many workers, that translates into less burnout, more control and a greater sense of belonging.

Keeping morale high in a small team, especially in a busy hospitality setting, requires attention from the top. Jordan says it comes down to “engagement and setting the tone for each shift – making sure we’re not at that burnout stage, having enough people on busy shifts so customers get great service and the team aren’t burned out.” In other words, it’s about prioritising hands-on, human-scale management – not policy-driven oversight. 

Jordan hopes people understand both the fragility and importance of employers like his. “Shop local and shop small,” he says. “The difference between someone spending a pound with an independent versus a big chain can be the difference between surviving another couple of months or a year.”

For all the pressures micro-businesses face, they’re shaping something increasingly rare in the UK labour market: work that feels human, work where team members can confidently rely on each other, and work that shows the direct impact of what they do. And on a day dedicated to celebrating small enterprises, it’s worth recognising that these businesses don’t just enrich local high streets – they’re quietly redefining what good work looks like.