One in four have accents mocked at work – surveyon November 3, 2022 at 5:32 am

Almost half of UK workers have had their accents mocked, criticised or singled out in a social setting, a survey suggests.

The Sutton Trust found 46% of workers have faced jibes about their accents, with 25% reporting jokes at work.

An entrenched “hierarchy of accent” caused social anxiety throughout some people’s lives, researchers said.

They said those with northern and Midlands accents were more likely to worry about the way they spoke.

People from the regions consistently reported more frequent experiences of being mocked for the way they spoke and admitted to higher rates of anxiety over their future career prospects because of perceived prejudiced attitudes.

Concerns over accents were most pronounced in university settings, with 35% of students admitting to feeling self-conscious about the way they spoke.

Among students, another 30% of respondents said they had experienced being mocked, criticised or singled out for their manner of speaking. Such experiences were especially pronounced among students from northern England.

And 31% of university attenders indicated that they were worried that their accents could have a negative impact on their future careers.

But such concerns fell among professionals (just 8%), with the report noting that this indicated “some effort in workplaces, though less in education, to attend to the risk of accent-based bias”.

The report, conducted by academics from the Accent Bias in Britain project, found that attitudes over accents remained largely unchanged over time, with respondents admitting to having a more favourable view of the traditional Received Pronunciation – or RP – sound.

Meanwhile, accents “commonly stereotyped as ‘working-class accents'” like those from Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham – as well as Afro-Caribbean and Indian accents – all ranked lower.

Senior managers from working-class backgrounds were consequently far more likely to worry that their accents could be barriers to their progression, with 29% highlighting such concerns compared to 22% from a “better off background”.

“It is normal for humans to have stereotypical associations with accents,” the researchers said. “However, if left unchecked, these biases and stereotypes can be used to judge independent skills and abilities, leading to discriminatory behaviour.”

For the research, 511 university applicants (largely 17-18 year olds) were surveyed, as well as 1,029 university students, 1,014 early-career professionals and 1,002 later career professionals.

Responding to the findings, Sir Peter Lampl, founder and chairman of the Sutton Trust, said it is “disgraceful that people are mocked, criticised or singled out” for how they spoke.

Sir Peter also warned that the prevalence of RP English “being the dominant accent of those in positions of authority” risked created a “hierarchy of accent prestige” in the UK.