Most workers reckon that their bosses are excessively bureaucratic, apportion blame wrongly and are inconsistent in decision making, a report has found.
Would workers really be happier without bosses?
Sirota Survey Intelligence questioned 3.5 million staff over three years at firms including global giants Shell, Tesco, Microsoft and Dell.
The belief that managers hamper staff is deeply ingrained, the report showed.
Instead, workers want to know what is expected of them, have competent bosses and better cooperation across the firm.
'Out of the way'
Sirota argues that the biggest challenge for many companies is creating an enthusiastic workforce as this is a key element of a successful organisation.
Dr David Sirota, Chairman of the research firm, believes that too often managers get in the way and hinder their staff's natural enthusiasm.
"People come to work, to work," Mr Sirota said.
"Unfortunately, they often find conditions that block high performance, such as excessive bureaucracy burying them in paperwork, and slowing decision making to a crawl.
"Management has to help employees perform, which in many cases means getting out of the way."