Laissez-Faire Leadership Style and Job-Satisfaction
A Laissez-faire leadership style can also be referred to as the absence of leadership. It is
an ineffective leadership style characterized by a failure to hold management
accountable for actions such as omissions, rewards, or penalties. Furthermore, the
laissez-faire leadership style is detrimental and leads to higher levels of stress in the
school. This leadership style might be the consequence of carelessness or ignorance, but
it can also be the outcome of a leader's respect. As a result, teachers can positively see a
leader's laissez-faire leadership style as a purposeful choice. As a result, “a more
balanced approach to this style is required to avoid a conventional point of view and
subsequent correlations with negative outcomes” (Breevaart & Zacher, 2019). A laissez-
faire leadership style can assist a school in achieving essential objectives and aims. It
will, however, be unable to assist in the improvement of organizational learning within
the institution (Glambek, Skogstad, & Einarsen, 2018).
A study was conducted by Delay and Clark (2020) to see how MR technologists saw the
link between leadership style and job satisfaction. The American Society of Radiologic and
Technologists issued MR certificates to the 10,000 Technologists who were randomly
selected. They conducted a survey that included the Vannsimpco Leadership Survey and the
job satisfaction Survey, both of which have previously been validated. The Pearson
Correlation Coefficient was used to determine the link. According to the MR technicians,
the results showed that there was a substantial negative association between laissez-faire
leadership style and job satisfaction with a minor impact size. Communication, contingent
rewards, and monitoring all had small negative relationships with the laissez-faire
leadership style. As a result, there is no discernible link between the laissez-faire
leadership style and the nature of work (Delay & Clark, 2020). The focus of this study was
solely on MR technologists. Apart from MR techs, many others in a health facility could
have been included in the study for generalization purposes.
Research conducted by Budiasih, Hartanto, Ha, Nguyen, and Usanti (2020) investigated
the perceived impact of organizational politics on the connection between leadership
styles and job satisfaction. It was carried out at Indonesia's capital city's private sector
organizations. Managers and their support employees from private sector organizations
in Thailand's capital city were chosen as responders. The data was gathered via survey
questionnaires. A total of 800 surveys were distributed. Even though 800 questionnaires
were issued, only 560 legitimate responses were received, representing a response rate of
roughly 70%. The studies revealed that laissez-faire leadership style and job satisfaction
have a positive association. As a result, all LSs are eligible to work in the Indonesian
private sector (Budiasih et al., 2020). However, not all leadership styles were
investigated in this study. All the leadership styles must be studied by policymakers
before policies can be implemented.
Another study was conducted by Sehar and Khurram (2019) on the impact of the head
teacher's leadership style on the job satisfaction and work inspiration of teachers. The
statistical data was gathered using a descriptive survey study design and structured
questionnaires. For this study, a random sampling of 122 instructors and 13 head teachers
was conducted, totaling 135, who were recruited from various Karachi schools. The
findings revealed that the head teachers believed that teachers could not work to their full
potential unless they were closely supervised. This study found that a laissez-faire
leadership style is inappropriate in schools since schools are where the future generation
is groomed, and instructors must be driven to teach from their hearts rather than being
forced to work under tight command. Furthermore, delegation without follow-up leads to
problems and poor performance, which eventually harms a school's reputation.
A study was carried out by Murabula (2019) on “the impact of leadership style on employee
job satisfaction in the banking sector, using the Family Bank of Kenya Limited as a case
study.” Stratified random sampling was used to generate a sample size of 13 managers and
37 personnel (retail and relations officers, customer care staff, bank tellers, and supervisors)
from nine family bank branches in Nairobi city. The variables were measured using a variety
of leadership questionnaires. The findings revealed that a laissez-faire leadership style has a
detrimental impact on job satisfaction and performance. Except for the laissez-faire
leadership style, the bank recommended any other leadership style (Murabula 2019). Leaders
who practice a laissez-faire leadership style provide employees with more independence,
which can have a substantial impact on employee performance and satisfaction. However, to
generalize the findings from this study, a larger sample size should have been used, i.e.,
additional banks should have been involved, particularly those located in Nairobi city, or
rather, other family banks located outside of Nairobi city. The laissez-faire leadership style is
one who rarely makes resolutions and shows no concern, leadership, or inspiration to their
subordinates. As a result, this style of leadership cannot be used in the financial sector or
non-governmental organizations where both the head and juniors can contribute to the
decision-making process and accomplish tasks to ensure the establishment's success. The
leadership style is a condition in which heads refuse to make
decisions.
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