In a damning indictment of the leadership skills of UK bosses, 47% of UK employees said they felt actively threatened by their leader.
The report found leaders in the civil service are the most threatening in the country: almost three-quarters (72%) of civil servants said they felt the behaviour of their boss made them feel threatened - more than any other sector.
Scientists (63%) and doctors (60%) were the second and third most threatened professions.
Employees working in retail also felt more threatened by their leaders than the majority of the working population the report revealed.
Jan Hills, partner at Head Heart and Brain, said: "On the whole, UK leaders are failing to send out positive signals of reward to their employees. It is making organisations less productive and more resistant to change, something which the UK cannot afford as it tries to drag itself out the economic quicksand created by the 2008 financial crisis."
Hills added: "A lack of quality leadership is holding some sectors back, and the retail sector is one of the biggest culprits. Christmas sales were down and stores like HMV and Blockbuster have folded. Retail leaders aren't coping well with the pace of change in the sector.
"They are managing their employees in a threatening way, which is dragging down productivity and making it harder for the sector to adapt to seismic changes in the economy. This is particularly worrying in a sector where there is such a close link between motivated employees, customer service and profitability."
