Shouting at male employees and offering extra cash are the two worst ways to motivate them, a new poll has revealed.

The results suggest there is no hidden desire amongst Britain’s men for the return of macho bosses like Life on Mars’ DCI Gene Hunt or The Sweeney’s Jack Regan.

Just 1 per cent of working men would “go the extra mile” for a fearsome boss, while only 11 percent care about money. Instead, a whopping 46 per cent say they would work harder for a boss who “has their best interests at heart,” the poll by Computershare Salary Extras (CSE) reveals.

CSE began the poll of working men to understand the market for its new range of salary sacrifice products. But the clarity of the results was a surprise. Managing director Julian Foster said: “It’s obvious that terrorising your staff just makes them want to ‘go the extra mile’ to another employer as soon as possible. “What this poll really shows is how different real life is from TV and Hollywood images of the workplace, where bosses like DCI Gene Hunt are the norm. “If that way of doing things ever existed it’s now old-fashioned at best, and illegal at worst.