‘Ang abaht… one-fifth of Brits admit changing their accents at work to appear more professional.
Londoners are the worst, along with career-minded Glaswegians who row back on their dialect in case people dinnae understand them.
A poll found 44 per cent of office staff are self-conscious about the way they speak at work. And 13 per cent didn’t realise they were putting on a posh accent until a friend told them.
Staff feel more self-conscious on the phone, with 27 per cent “speaking proper” on the blower.
And 20 per cent say they change their voice in meetings to appear more authoritative.
After London and Glasgow – on 21 per cent – 17 per cent of Manchester folk got all mithered about their accent, while the same number did in Brizzle… sorry, Bristol.
Telecoms firm 4Com quizzed 1,002 UK office workers.
Spokesman Mark Pearcy said: “This is a form of impression management strategy, to make them sound more professional, educated or of a higher class.
"It’s a shame. Accent variety is one of the things that makes our country great."
