British Workplaces, With One in 10 People Feeling Anxious or Self-conscious About Their Accent in High-stakes Professional Settings

Mia Tanswell, 22, from Manchester, said she became conscious of her accent during her first week at university in Loughborough. "I knew people were going to notice that I was northern and that I didn't speak the 'Queen's English'," she said. "Definitely in seminars I would sometimes feel like my accent would sound a bit less intellectual than other people, especially if I was the only northern student in the classroom.

Martha Powell, 24, from Newport in south Wales, said she is proud of her Welsh accent. "I love my accent, if anything I wish it was more Welsh, she said. But she still fears people "make assumptions" based on her accent, so at networking events she gravitates towards others with a Welsh accent.

"I wish I would be able to stand out a little bit more, but I think I adapt my accent depending on where I am in the country. The survey found 13% of Britons polled admitted to changing the way they speak to sound more professional, with Cockneys and Scots more likely to do this. A foreign accent can also be a barrier.

Benjaimin Aidomoan came to the UK from the Czech Republic four years ago aged 16, not speaking a word of English. He picked up the language but says his accent has made job-hunting more difficult. "You can just see on many people's faces, that the expression and the way they are looking at you and the way they are talking to you kind of changes, he said.

Benjaimin, who now works in a restaurant, believes most employers do look beyond accents. "It's about who you are, how you present yourself, what is your attitude and how hard you're willing to work," he said. Charlotte Davies, career expert at LinkedIn, said while there is still progress to be made "the direction of travel is encouraging".

"Hiring is increasingly about skills, not background or polish. Your accent is part of your story, and the workplaces getting this right, treat that as a strength, not something to smooth out," she said. Sian Jackson, a partner at law firm Mills & Reeve, said her company has recently changed its approach to encourage more local hiring and a diversity of accents.

"We don't judge, we scrutinise based on capability beyond somebody's accent, or appearance. Like any other prejudice or bias it's about being conscious of it so you can then set it aside," she said. We feel we've come a long way as a firm, but we are behind nationally compared to things like gender, so there is more progress to be made on accents.