“They loved your messages. This was evident by the TWO standing ovations you received.”
Educational Service Unit No. 11
If you’ve never heard of the term laissez-faire, you probably don’t know that it’s a leadership style. It’s usually applied to economics and politics but is also a common leadership style in professional settings. Employers working under laissez-faire leaders are usually making their own decisions related to work projects and tasks.
When someone works in a laissez-faire environment, they have their own course for handling things without interference from the employer or manager. While this working environment may not be the best for everyone, it does work out well for a variety of businesses. This includes startups and advertising agencies, where independent thinking is encouraged.
Employees feel much more relaxed and less stressed under laissez-faire leaders. This relaxed work environment allows for more creativity, freedom, and innovation. People can bring their own working style, and this environment or leadership style comes with its own pros and cons.
Laissez-faire leadership is one of the most relaxed approaches to leadership for both managers and employers. If you’re an employer or manager considering this leadership, let’s take a look at the benefits of a laissez-faire working environment.
In this section, we’ll discuss how laissez-faire leadership works and how that results in a relaxed work environment. Leaders in this scenario have a very hands-off approach. They allow their employees to enjoy their freedom and the space they need to handle their tasks, projects, and workload.
Many people have a misconception that laissez-faire leaders completely ignore their team and employees. However, this isn’t true. Just because it’s a relaxed work environment, doesn’t mean employees are left on their own. They still have the necessary training tools, sessions, seminars with top business speakers, and other support they need.
All of this support doesn’t just come from the managers but also from everyone in the team. Employees can perform their job roles efficiently and effectively. Less stress creates a fun environment where everyone is happy with their job and productivity levels are higher.
Laissez-faire environments also allow employees to make their own decisions so they feel valued by the amount of responsibility and trust they have been awarded. Leaders also don’t criticize their employees. They let them make mistakes because they know that mistakes can be rectified, and sometimes employees don’t do everything right.
Ultimately, this leadership style creates a relaxed work environment. However, this model still holds the employer or manager accountable for their team members and employees. Even though employees are making their own decisions, leaders need to ensure that everything is completed on time, the budget is managed, and the team is doing well.
This leadership model works best when a team has highly skilled and qualified members. These members already have considerable experience and expertise in their fields and can work without continuous guidance or support from their leader. Each member is confident, competent, and able to achieve their goals with minimal instructions.
A laissez-faire work environment also works great for creative fields. This leadership model is effective in startups, entertainment businesses, retail buying, or advertising agencies. This is because this model creates a relaxed work environment where all employees are allowed creative freedom so they can use their unique skills and work without any rush.
What do you consider a relaxed work environment? Is it the smell of coffee brewing, the sound of people chatting while working, video games and beanbags, or silence? When people think of work and office jobs, they rarely associate fun or relaxation with it.
However, more and more companies are now investing in and curating spaces where their employees can relax but still be productive. One common misconception people have regarding relaxed work environments is that they result in lower productivity.
However, that’s not the case. Many successful businesses promote relaxed work environments, and a great example of laissez-faire leadership is Steve Jobs. He gave his team a clear vision of his goal, and they were able to turn his dream into a reality. This catapulted Apple to success and made it a technology giant.
In a relaxed work environment, where your employer or manager has given you enough freedom, you feel less stressed about your job. Reduced stress increases job satisfaction. When employees are satisfied, the employer can rest assured knowing the business is running smoothly. High-stress work environments can be detrimental to any business.
Stress also leads to health problems, burnout, workplace conflicts, and lack of focus. When employees are given a chance to relax and unwind, they feel less overwhelmed which, in turn, benefits the business.
If you want to foster a relaxed work environment for your team, keep reading.
You can find a break room in any office, but most of the time these spaces aren’t relaxing for anyone. Many break rooms are depressing, with neutral walls, poorly stocked cabinets in the kitchen, bright lights, old magazines, uncomfortable seating, and no entertainment.
You can make your office’s break room better by creating a relaxing and welcoming space. While in the break room, employees can relax, unwind, bond with each other, have fun, and relieve the workday’s stress.
Some companies offer comfortable seats, good food, drinks, an entertainment unit, and board games. You can also add beanbag chairs and anything else your employees might like.
In an office building, you can have an open floor where people can socialize while working. If your employees have a free space for working, relaxing, talking, and hanging out, it will increase collaboration. They can share ideas, become more creative, and bond better with each other in a relaxed work environment.
Leaders and employers can aim for a healthy work-life balance for all employees. They can encourage their team members to finish work on time and not stay any longer than their office hours. If employees want to relax before leaving for home, workplaces can introduce yoga classes to help everyone unwind.
In a laissez-faire environment, the managers have a hands-off approach. However, this doesn’t mean any team leader or manager should come off as unapproachable. If your subordinates are finding it hard to reach out to you, find ways you can become easier to approach.
Open different communication channels and let them know you are there to solve anything they are having a hard time with. Make sure everyone in your team is open to communication so they know their suggestions and opinions are highly valued.
Some employees feel stressed in a relaxed work environment because they aren’t informed about their progress or feel they don’t have the right skill set. In this case, you can introduce training sessions that will help employees improve their current skills or acquire new ones.
This also shows your employees you are invested in their growth. When employees feel like they can progress and grow within a company, it creates a relaxed work environment, and they will want to achieve long-term goals within the company.
No employee should feel like they are working constantly. Plus, too much screen time is unhealthy for anyone. Encourage your employees to take breaks and approach work with a clear, relaxed mind. This way they can concentrate better and avoid burnout. Taking breaks improves productivity levels and allows people to re-energize before they start working again.
Having seminars is great for creating relaxed work environments. When you want to inspire your employees, hire motivational business speakers for delivering speeches during conferences.
A professional motivational keynote speaker like Hall of Fame member Steve Gilliland not only provides insightful speeches but also livens up corporate events. With his wit and humor, Steve adds life to any workplace conference or seminar. Your team will benefit from an inspirational speaker like him.
Steve Gilliland promotes growth and confidence. If companies want to build an online training and education strategy, they can use Steve Gilliland’s Motivation Bites™. These are short videos that can help with their employees’ growth.
With Steve’s honest advice and wisdom, your employees will feel good about themselves. Steve Gilliland has played a huge role in improving employee retention rates and reducing employee turnover in organizations worldwide.
“After I heard Steve Gilliland speak at our Trucking Association Executives Council Annual Summer Meeting in San Juan, we booked him for our Annual Conference by the time I got home. His humor, content and delivery are remarkable!” – Rick Todd, President & CEO, South Carolina Trucking Association
