Accents in the workplace?

[Birdster]

Hi,

This might be a strange one, but how important do you think the 'correct' accent is in the workplace? I've recently been pulled up on it by a few people where clearly there is some snobbery. Or at least I think that there is.

I've lived and worked in London/Essex most of my life and I've been working in the IT consultancy field for 13 years. Either as a contractor, or PAYE. I feel like my work and attitude speaks for itself as contracts have been extended and I've been brought back to the same places, yet I've hit a new obstacle. I've just started a new job, where for the first time I've actually been made to feel uncomfortable, but won't lose any sleep over it. Someone else from essex said they hate their accent and deliberately try to speak posh, as they find that they're not taken seriously otherwise. I stated that you shouldn't change who you are, as long as you're polite and speak correctly, not using slang etc. Then another colleague chipped in and said to me that they found me annoying to speak to. I was like fair enough, but I'm not going to change.

Anyone changed their accent? Or found it annoying speaking to someone?

[Eric Mc]

What particular part of the employment contract are they trying to invoke?

[Halb]

Birdster said:

Hi,

This might be a strange one, but how important do you think the 'correct' accent is in the workplace? I've recently been pulled up on it by a few people where clearly there is some snobbery. Or at least I think that there is.

I've lived and worked in London/Essex most of my life and I've been working in the IT consultancy field for 13 years. Either as a contractor, or PAYE. I feel like my work and attitude speaks for itself as contracts have been extended and I've been brought back to the same places, yet I've hit a new obstacle. I've just started a new job, where for the first time I've actually been made to feel uncomfortable, but won't lose any sleep over it. Someone else from essex said they hate their accent and deliberately try to speak posh, as they find that they're not taken seriously otherwise. I stated that you shouldn't change who you are, as long as you're polite and speak correctly, not using slang etc. Then another colleague chipped in and said to me that they found me annoying to speak to. I was like fair enough, but I'm not going to change.

Anyone changed their accent? Or found it annoying speaking to someone?

Huge snobbery in acting, especially with those That London tts.

[Birdster]

Eric Mc said:

What particular part of the employment contract are they trying to invoke?

I'd say none, as these people have no direct relation to my project, or what I'm working on. This was people casually chatting during a drink at lunch and I was there as this conversation was taking place.

[hyphen]

You haven't said which accent you have/what local dialects you have?

Is it one of those OTT essex accents?

[Birdster]

Halb said:

Birdster said:

Hi,

This might be a strange one, but how important do you think the 'correct' accent is in the workplace? I've recently been pulled up on it by a few people where clearly there is some snobbery. Or at least I think that there is.

I've lived and worked in London/Essex most of my life and I've been working in the IT consultancy field for 13 years. Either as a contractor, or PAYE. I feel like my work and attitude speaks for itself as contracts have been extended and I've been brought back to the same places, yet I've hit a new obstacle. I've just started a new job, where for the first time I've actually been made to feel uncomfortable, but won't lose any sleep over it. Someone else from essex said they hate their accent and deliberately try to speak posh, as they find that they're not taken seriously otherwise. I stated that you shouldn't change who you are, as long as you're polite and speak correctly, not using slang etc. Then another colleague chipped in and said to me that they found me annoying to speak to. I was like fair enough, but I'm not going to change.

Anyone changed their accent? Or found it annoying speaking to someone?

Huge snobbery in acting, especially with those That London tts.

I'd never thought of accents in the acting sense, but now you mention it, I guess it relates to the characters and how they 'should' sound.

[Birdster]

hyphen said:

You haven't said which accent you have/what local dialects you have?

Is it one of those OTT essex accents?

I've never thought of it too much to be honest. Well, until now. No one has ever commented on it negatively before, but I'm aware of where I'm from. You can tell that I'm from Essex.

When working further up North, it's been said that I don't look or sound Essex, or fit the stereotype.

If you're referring to those accents that you hear in The Only Way Is Essex, then I'd say no. For clarity I don't go around calling everyone at work "mate", or "bruv".

So I was thinking. Either no one has said anything to me all these years. Or it's just these people I work with. For clarity, if they had spoke with a different accent I'd have said the same thing to them regarding not changing.

Edited by Birdster on Sunday 18th December 10:09

[Eric Mc]

Birdster said:

Eric Mc said:

What particular part of the employment contract are they trying to invoke?

I'd say none, as these people have no direct relation to my project, or what I'm working on. This was people casually chatting during a drink at lunch and I was there as this conversation was taking place.

Therefore, just ignore them.

And if they keep making an issue of it, have a chat with your manager.

Is it hindering your work?
Is your performance sub par because of your accent?
Was it a requirement of your job to speak in a particular way?

If the answer to any of the above is "No", then you can tell them to go take a jump, in whatever accent you like.

[V40Vinnie]

Being a Northerner in Kent is always a giggle especially when you start using northern dialect and all the staff you work with just give you a WTF look. There is often the usual Glass Gla rse quarrel

[bitchstewie]

I've spoken to lots of people who I could barely understand.

I wouldn't say anything beyond asking if they could repeat what they were saying.

[MarshPhantom]

Birdster said:

Hi,

This might be a strange one, but how important do you think the 'correct' accent is in the workplace? I've recently been pulled up on it by a few people where clearly there is some snobbery. Or at least I think that there is.

I've lived and worked in London/Essex most of my life and I've been working in the IT consultancy field for 13 years. Either as a contractor, or PAYE. I feel like my work and attitude speaks for itself as contracts have been extended and I've been brought back to the same places, yet I've hit a new obstacle. I've just started a new job, where for the first time I've actually been made to feel uncomfortable, but won't lose any sleep over it. Someone else from essex said they hate their accent and deliberately try to speak posh, as they find that they're not taken seriously otherwise. I stated that you shouldn't change who you are, as long as you're polite and speak correctly, not using slang etc. Then another colleague chipped in and said to me that they found me annoying to speak to. I was like fair enough, but I'm not going to change.

Anyone changed their accent? Or found it annoying speaking to someone?

Sound like a couple of idiots. Wouldn't worry about them.

[227bhp]

Birdster said:

I was like fair enough, but I'm not going to change.

That would like, annoy me too.

[Magic919]

I changed mine (SE London) when I left school to start work. I'd do the same again, TBH. Plenty of people will write you off if they think you sound thick.

[davepoth]

It's important when dealing with people abroad. I come from Somerset and have a fair to middling amount of west country burr which I have to make a bit of an effort to tone down when doing conference calls - making sure to enunciate the Ts instead of using glottal stops, making sure any letter Rs don't last more than ten minutes, and so forth.

[Eric Mc]

Accents aren't the problem. It's enunciation and intelligent use of the language that matters.

If you want to be understood by others who don't speak the way you do, you do need to modify your accent somewhat just out of courtesy to others However, you don't have to lose the accent completely. The main thing is to be aware that if you use local expressions and mannerisms many people won't have a clue what you mean - so you do need to watch those.

I have an Irish accent which, even after 30 plus years in the UK I haven't lost - and I don't intend to lose it either. However, I have taken care over the years not to slip into Dublinese when not speaking to fellow Dubs.

[HD Adam]

Fortunately for me this has never been a problem as I work in the Oil industry and it's pretty much a given that accents will be all over the shop.

Right now, in my office, my boss is Glaswegian, I am from Norfolk, my oppo is from Dallas and our lab guy is Mexican.
Our CEO, here last week, is Welsh.

All it takes is speaking a little slower than you would back home & not using any slang, unless for comedic purposes.

[Halb]

V40Vinnie said:

Being a Northerner in Kent is always a giggle especially when you start using northern dialect and all the staff you work with just give you a WTF look. There is often the usual Glass Gla rse quarrel

Tell them that the shorter/flatter vowels are the older 'truer' english, and that the way they pronounce glass didn't exist over 100 years ago.

[ClaphamGT3]

In a professional environment, I would expect people to have the emotional intelligence to adapt their accent to the workplace norm or to neutralise it as far as possible

[battered]

ClaphamGT3 said:

In a professional environment, I would expect people to have the emotional intelligence to adapt their accent to the workplace norm or to neutralise it as far as possible

I do exactly this. Getting served in the local pub in Leeds involves turning up the Yorkshire to 11, around factories in London, Birmingham, or Scotland I'll moderate it but still use the odd "Morning luv, nah then, 'ow you gettin' on?" to oil the wheels, and in front of Waitrose or M&S it's very much the BBC Look North news presenter accent and "Absolutely. We very much appreciate your time and effort coming to see us, and we completely share your view that a pigeon crapping in the car park without somebody cleaning it up IMMEDIATELY is a very real concern, we will be convening the senior exec the minute that you leave in order to address this very serious oversight and put in corrective actions right away, and we will of course be keeping you abreast of all developments in the car park hygiene review that will certainly be coming out of this." Everyone does this, or should, because the way that you sound influences the way that people react towards you and what you say.

[Birdster]

Thanks for the replies. I can see a mix of opinions, which gives some balance.