A scary boss won't always get the best out of staff: Companies with a 'culture of fear' are worse-performing than those where workers are treated equally

  • Culture of fear in the workplace can decrease productivity, study says
  • Employees working within strict hierarchy are more likely to waste time
  • Meanwhile, workers who had share in ownership of their company were more likely to apply values of fairness, trust, humility and courage at work

By Rosie Taylor, Business Reporter For The Daily Mail

Published: 16:16 EST, 2 October 2015 | Updated: 17:46 EST, 2 October 2015

You might think being terrified of your boss would make you work harder to impress.

But a culture of fear in the workplace can actually decrease productivity, says a study.

Employees working within a strict hierarchy are more likely to waste time dealing with demands and bureaucracy – meaning they cannot focus on more important work.

Unproductive: Employees working within a strict hierarchy are more likely to waste time dealing with demands and bureaucracy – meaning they cannot focus on more important work. Above, file image

Unproductive: Employees working within a strict hierarchy are more likely to waste time dealing with demands and bureaucracy – meaning they cannot focus on more important work. Above, file image

A study by the Chartered Management Institute compared traditional hierarchical firms with those owned by their workers.

It found that employees who had a share in ownership of their company were more likely to apply the values of fairness, trust, humility and courage at work. 

And nine out of ten said their management was 'democratic' and 'visionary', compared with just over half of those at traditionally-run firms.

Workers at companies with a strictly hierarchical structure were four times more likely to describe their managers as 'commanding, controlling and coercive'.

Happier workplace: The study found that employees who had a share in ownership of their company were more likely to apply the values of fairness, trust, humility and courage at work. Above, file image

Happier workplace: The study found that employees who had a share in ownership of their company were more likely to apply the values of fairness, trust, humility and courage at work. Above, file image

Bosses were also less likely to make business decisions based on 'blind obedience to corporate rules' when employees were seen as equals, researchers claimed.

The report said: 'When people at work operate in a culture of fear and bureaucracy, customer focus and entrepreneurship suffer. This translates into lower revenues and profits and higher costs. 

'When employees own their organisations, the culture is more human, less fearful and less bureaucratic.'