A small business owner working 70 hours a week explains why she avoids hiring staff
Many companies have paused recruitment leading to a sharp drop in private sector job openings compared to last year. One such example is Rolling Cheese, which is a cheese and wine shop owned by Nelli Steer who has no plans to expand her team despite needing more workers.
Published: 15/09/25 | 10:16
According to Steer the main obstacle is not financial but the heavy workload and risks that come with hiring.
-In a small business there is no HR manager, lawyer or CFO and those roles all fall on us the entrepreneurs. When we bring on new staff these responsibilities pile up.
She explains that taking on someone unsuited for the job can be extremely costly and waste a lot of valuable time.
-It’s a huge risk since we can’t just extend a probation period endlessly. We’ve had to make the most of the maximum probation period allowed because replacing an employee is difficult. If things don’t work out, the consequences for a small company can be serious.
Rolling Cheese which is located in Töölö Helsinki, specializes in artisan and farm cheeses. In addition to the entrepreneurial couple the shop employs two permanent workers and one part-time helper. The business also runs an online store and supplies cheese to restaurants in Helsinki.
Ideally, Steer would like to hire two full-time employees for the store. However, training newcomers is highly time consuming and something difficult to manage on top of the couple’s 70 hour workweeks.
-We have to train them from the ground up. Finland doesn’t have a long cheese tradition so people don’t usually have prior knowledge or skills. We start by teaching the basics like what cheese is, how to cut it and how to handle it.
Steer adds that from a small business perspective dismissing employees remains difficult even though upcoming legislative changes may simplify the process.
-If recruitment fails for any reason we must begin the process all over again. That eats into the time we could otherwise spend developing and growing the business.
The government has proposed that in the future a “factual reason” would be enough to terminate employment replacing the current requirement of a “substantial and weighty reason.” This bill that is now under review is part of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government’s effort to boost employment and make hiring less daunting for businesses.
Rolling Cheese is not alone. Across Finland, companies are reducing recruitment and private sector job openings in April-June dropped by nearly half compared to a year earlier.
Petri Malinen, who is chief economist of the Federation of Finnish Entrepreneurs explains that the weaker-than-expected economic recovery and low consumer confidence have sharply reduced labor demand particularly in retail and construction.
-The situation is tough for both small and large retailers and right now the main focus is on keeping the staff they already have Malinen notes.
This cautious hiring attitude is also reflected in the latest Business Barometer by the Federation of Finnish Entrepreneurs. Only 14 percent of SMEs surveyed plan to take on new staff within the next year while 11 percent of more than 4,000 respondents expect to downsize.
The decline in recruitment is also visible at HR service provider Barona where the number of placements has fallen significantly since 2022. Barona, which handles staffing, direct recruitment and sector-specific hiring reports that the number of job postings has dropped by about a quarter compared to last year.
Teemu Junkkarinen, who is Development Manager at Barona explains that demand has slowed in many service sectors such as retail and restaurants.
-These industries employ large numbers of people which means the effects are visible across both small and large companies, Junkkarinen says.
