Among the top reasons managers hesitate to give feedback to their employees, according to a study conducted by LeanIn.Org and McKinsey, is fear the employee may have an "emotional breakdown".

But if you've just imagined a man is behind this statement, you're wrong. Female managers are more likely to make this assumption than men are.

The US study, Women in the Workplace 2016, released in late September, is based on data from more than 130 companies and over 34,000 men and women.

It found that women ask for feedback as often as men, but are less likely to receive it. When asked why managers didn't want to give employees feedback, 43 per cent of female managers and 35 per cent of male managers said that they were "concerned about seeming mean or hurtful".