Impact of transformational and laissez-faire leadership styles on performance, job satisfaction, and turnover intention: A case study of educational organizations in Chile

Employee turnover has emerged as a growing and complex challenge, particularly among young workers with higher expectations and a greater propensity to change jobs. Certainly, leadership plays a pivotal role in addressing these challenges. Accordingly, this study aims to examine the effects of transformational and laissez-faire leadership styles on job satisfaction, turnover intention, and employee performance within public educational organizations in Chile. A quantitative, cross-sectional research design was employed, utilizing a sample of 221 teachers from Antofagasta, Chile. Data were collected through an online questionnaire and analyzed using R Studio for descriptive statistics and SmartPLS software for hypotheses testing. For a sample of teachers, composed primarily of females (66%) and millennials (59%), the results show that teachers recognize more attributes of transformational (3.9 on a scale of 1 to 5) than laissez-faire leadership (2.1 on a scale of 1 to 5) in their principals. The findings reveal a significant positive relationship between transformational leadership and job satisfaction (β = 0.774, p < 0.001), with job satisfaction playing a key role in reducing teachers’ turnover intention (β = –0.451, p < 0.001). Furthermore, a significant negative association was identified between teachers’ age and turnover intention. Likewise, a positive relationship was found between teachers’ age and job satisfaction. In contrast, laissez-faire leadership was significantly and positively associated with turnover intention (β = 0.233, p < 0.05).