Public sector workers are feeling demoralised because of a "crippling" lack of trust from middle management and Whitehall, a new report has claimed.
Front-line staff feel like "untrustworthy teenagers" because of recent reforms, which have done little to improve services, said think-tank Demos.
The public sector is now failing to attract top graduates because of a "vicious circle" of falling status and low morale, said the report.
Improvements to the NHS, teaching and social services would be made if staff were given more autonomy, because they know their job better than anyone, said Demos.
The report recommended measures to cut bureaucracy, remove tiers of management and abolish quangos such as the Audit Commission.
Max Wind-Cowie, one of the authors of the report, said: "Failure in public service stems from a failure to trust that experienced teams and individuals know best. We will get better services if we put trust back in the professionals.
"All the talk at the moment is about protecting frontline staff from cuts, but that alone won't make the difference if we continue to treat them like untrustworthy teenagers.
"Every government has the tendency to centralise. Whoever wins the next election must do everything they can to resist that urge and let go."
