The Best Small & Medium Workplaces™ in Europe celebrate organisations building workplaces where people feel valued, supported and empowered to do their best work. Across the continent, these organisations demonstrate the importance of trust, employee experience and a workplace culture that supports both people and business.
This year’s list features 100 organisations chosen after surveying more than 1.5 million employees about their experience in the workplace, representing over 2.4 million employees in Europe. Of those, 260,000 responses came from companies eligible for the list, and this ranking is based on that feedback.
We’re proud to see nine Irish organisations – Core, TrueLayer, ORS, Distilled, Bluecrux, Fáilte Ireland, WP Engine Inc., Rokstone – Ireland and Lotusworks – recognised among Europe’s Best Small & Medium Workplaces, with each also holding Great Place To Work Certified™ status. Below, we explore what the data tells us about the workplace experiences behind this year’s European list.
Europe’s Best Small & Medium Workplaces in 2026 are proving that when people feel welcome, trusted and supported, they are more likely to stay and thrive.
That sense of belonging is reflected in the everyday employee experience. Trust and open communication remain important foundations, with 87% of employees saying management trusts people to do a good job without watching over their shoulders, while 88% say management is approachable and easy to talk with.
Opportunities for growth also feature in the findings, with 83% of employees saying they are developing professionally in their organisation and 81% agreeing that they are offered training or development to further themselves professionally.
The data also highlights the importance of wellbeing and belonging. 80% of employees said their organisation is a psychologically and emotionally healthy place to work, while 88% said they can be themselves at work.
These experiences are reflected in how employees view their workplace overall. 86% said that, taking everything into account, their organisation is a great place to work, while 90% said they are proud to tell others they work there.
Ranked 11th this year, Core has built a long-standing Great Place to Work journey around understanding what employees need from their workplace. Today, Core is recognised as one of Ireland's Best Workplaces™ 2026, Ireland's Best Workplaces™ for Women 2026 and Ireland's Best Workplaces™ for Health & Wellbeing 2026.
Employee feedback has played an important role in shaping that journey. One area identified for improvement was communication, with employees looking for greater visibility into what was happening across the organisation and more opportunities to feel connected to colleagues and the wider business. In response, Core looked beyond traditional business updates, using internal communication to share promotions, upcoming events, employee achievements and developments across different parts of the organisation. The approach highlights how effective communication is not simply about how often information is shared, but whether employees feel informed, connected and part of the wider organisation.
TrueLayer: A workplace employees are proud to be part of
Ranked 23rd, the employee experience at TrueLayer reflects strong levels of connection, pride and belonging. 100% of employees say that, taking everything into account, TrueLayer is a great place to work, compared with 60% at a typical Ireland-based company.
Employees also report strong experiences across a range of areas, with 100% saying they are proud to tell others they work there and 100% saying their customers would rate the service they deliver as excellent.
The results also point to a culture where employees feel able to be themselves, develop their careers and recommend the organisation to others. 91% say they can be themselves at work, while 91% say they can fulfil their career aspirations at TrueLayer.
Read more insights from our Employee Retention and Wellbeing Report
ORS: Building a culture that supports growth
Ranking 27th, for ORS, building a strong workplace culture has been an ongoing process. The organisation has invested in its people and culture while also looking at how that work is reflected in its employer brand. That commitment has helped ORS earn recognition as one of Ireland’s Best Workplaces™, as well as becoming the highest-placed building consultancy firm across all categories.
Its experience demonstrates how recognition can become part of a wider employer brand strategy – providing an opportunity for organisations to showcase the culture they have built while supporting their efforts to attract and retain talent.
Distilled: Bringing three cultures together
Ranking 28th, for Distilled, building a strong workplace culture has involved navigating significant change. The organisation brought together Daft.ie, DoneDeal.ie and Adverts.ie under one parent company, combining three businesses, three cultures and different ways of working.
That journey placed leadership, communication and employee feedback at the centre of the organisation’s approach. Regular engagement surveys, pulse surveys and feedback from employees have helped Distilled identify where changes were needed and shape how the organisation operates.
The organisation has also placed a strong emphasis on connection in a largely remote and hybrid working environment, giving employees flexibility while creating opportunities to come together through company days, team meetups and social activities. Today, Distilled continues to use employee feedback to understand what is working, where challenges remain and how its culture can evolve.
Discover how communication shapes the way Distilled works below.
Bluecrux: Growing a culture alongside the team
Bluecrux Ireland, ranked 36, has been recognised as a Best Workplace in Tech for the third consecutive year, reflecting the importance the organisation places on its people and culture as it continues to grow its team in Ireland.
The recognition is particularly meaningful to Bluecrux because it reflects the contribution of its employees and the values that underpin its culture, both locally and globally. As the organisation continues to expand, maintaining that culture alongside growth remains an important part of the employee experience.
Fáilte Ireland: Building an agile and engaged workforce
Ireland’s tourism industry plays an important role in the national economy, supporting businesses, communities and thousands of jobs. For Fáilte Ireland, ranking 44th, the National Tourism Development Authority, having an innovative, agile and engaged workforce is central to supporting that wider role.
Fáilte Ireland began its Great Place to Work journey in 2017, with its initial Trust Index Survey© highlighting opportunities to further develop its culture and turn employee feedback into action. By sharing survey results transparently across the organisation and securing the backing of senior leadership, Fáilte Ireland set out to build on its employee experience and establish itself as a Great Place to Work. That focus on listening and action has remained an important part of the organisation’s culture journey.
WP Engine: Supporting people through change
At a time when stress, burnout and rapid transformation continue to shape the technology industry, WP Engine is among the organisations recognised for creating a workplace where employee wellbeing remains part of the wider culture. Ranking 73rd, their recognition highlights the role that support, connection and a strong employee experience can play as organisations navigate change. For growing technology businesses in particular, creating an environment where people feel supported and equipped to do their best work is increasingly important.
Rokstone – Ireland: Making work more sustainable
Work-life balance is shaped by how work is experienced every day – from flexibility and workload management to whether employees have the space to step away when needed. For Rokstone – Ireland, ranked 80th, this forms part of a wider conversation around creating a sustainable employee experience.
Across the Best Workplaces for Health & Wellbeing™, 83% of employees say they look forward to coming to work, compared with 52% across the wider Irish workforce. For organisations such as Rokstone – Ireland, creating an employee experience where flexibility, wellbeing and sustainable working practices are part of everyday culture can help support people over the long term.
As expectations around flexibility and wellbeing continue to evolve, the way organisations approach work-life balance will remain an important part of building workplaces where people want to stay and thrive.
Lotusworks: Putting employee wellbeing at the centre
At Lotusworks, ranked 83rd, employee wellbeing is positioned as a central part of the organisation’s people strategy, with initiatives spanning physical health, mental health and preventative care.
The organisation provides fully subsidised health insurance to all employees from their first day, with uptake increasing from 55% in 2021 to 75% in 2025. Employees can also access an annual GP check-up, while additional health checks and executive screenings support a focus on preventative care.
Mental health is similarly embedded into the employee experience, with a global Mental Health Policy, an Employee Assistance Programme and more than 35 employees across Ireland and the United States trained as Mental Health First Aiders.
Alongside these initiatives, Lotusworks uses employee feedback to understand what matters most to its people and shape its approach accordingly. Together, these measures reflect a broader focus on making wellbeing an ongoing part of the employee experience.
About the Best Small & Medium Workplaces in Europe List
Great Place To Work selected the 2026 Best Small & Medium Workplaces in Europe List by analyzing companies’ workplace programs and surveying over 1.5 million employees across multiple countries in the region, representing over 2.4 million employees across Europe. Of those, 260,000 responses came from companies eligible for the list, and this ranking is based on that feedback.
To be eligible for the Best Small & Medium Workplaces list, companies must be Great Place To Work Certified with between 50 and 499 employees in Europe and be recognized on one or more Great Place To Work Best Workplaces Lists in Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, or the United Kingdom during 2025 or early 2026.
Thinking about Great Place to Work Certification™?
Watch our 40-minute live Q&A webinar recording designed for organisations exploring Great Place to Work® Certification for the first time. Learn how the process works, what to expect, and why launching your Trust Index™ survey by November 2026 is key if you're planning your recognition journey.
About Great Place to Work®
Great Place to Work® is the global authority on workplace culture. We help organisations quantify their culture and produce better business results by creating a high-trust work experience for all employees. We recognise Great Place to Work-Certified™ companies and the Best Workplaces™ in more than 60 countries. To join the thousands of companies that have committed to building high-trust company cultures that help them attract, retain and take care of their people, contact us about getting Certified today.