Discriminination in the workplace - By speaking as my colleagues put it "posh"

cooky43

Can anyone please help ?
I have looked at discrimination in the workplace articles but have found that I am unable to find a category that this particular discrimination may exist.
I was told by a manager today in a 1 to 1 meeting that my work colleagues object to the way in which I speak ,that I ,in their words “they felt that I spoke too poshly” and that they didn’t like it.
I explained that if being well spoken was frowned upon and being polite was a crime then I was guilty on both counts.

The company I presently work for is bully based and they feel that intimidation by numbers get end results. I have been with the company 7 weeks and I believe that I am a different sort of manager than they have had before. I asked if I could speak individually to each person that found my spoken word as “posh” but was told that they do not do things like that, they speak to one person and get it “sorted”. I am by no means a young girl who is easily intimidated or will stand by and be bullied by individuals who feel that they have the right to pick on one person who may speak differently from them or for that matter treat any individual like this that may be different in any sort of way. I am a manager of a business in a valley town in South Wales. I was born near the area but brought up in England. I feel that just because I do not swear and have a different non aggressive approach and yes sound different to others this behaviour should not be condoned.

I would be grateful if you could advise the best way in which to proceed in this matter and appreciate any advice you could give.
There is no grievance procedure within the company for this case, although I believe there should be.

Thanks
Cooky43

trevormax

I would hand out leaflets for elocution lessons, then spend a day correcting peoples grammar when they say anything. Finish it all off by putting in a complaint to your managers manager complaining about the fact that he sounds like common riff raff and it is displaying a negative image for the company.

But then I am the confrontational type.

Oldernotwiser

Whilst I agree that they're being unreasonable (after all, they must have heard you speak at your interview!) it might be worthwhile developing a slightly different type of speech when dealing with your staff. It's often useful to speak to different people appropriately and many people do this; I wouldn't speak to shop floor workers in the same way that I would speak to senior management or customers.

zzzLazyDaisy

Unfortunately discrimination on the grounds of education or better upbringing is not unlawful. May be it should be, but it isn't.

More to the point, as you are within the first 12 months of service, your employer can terminate your contract without giving a reason, as long as they don't fall foul of the anti-discrimination laws.

So if you wish to keep your job, you may have to take on board what your employer is saying, and make some efforts to adjust/compromise.

poet123

As ONW quite rightly says, it is a useful tool to be able mix, and even maybe come down to the level of your reports (within limits!). You will perhaps have to temper the use of long words, and maybe tone down your accent and return closer to your roots.

You should not be discriminated against because of it, but considering you presumably spoke that way at interview it is surprising that this issue has come up. Could it maybe also be your actions, demeanour etc, that are giving an aloof, slightly snobbish impression, and your accent is the thing being fixed upon rather than the "feeling" it creates.

timmmers

I can't even start to understand why these people think this is right or reasonable?

If you were hard to understand, or swore...that's one thing...this is insane.

I would ask to see the boss and ask if they would also like you to wash less too?

You can't help how you speak, what in God's name would they say about an Indian with a thick accent or someone gay with a camp tone ?

Laugh at them, it's ridiculous.

t

jasmine_lotus_flower

just be yourself

olly300

poet123 wrote: »

As ONW quite rightly says, it is a useful tool to be able mix, and even maybe come down to the level of your reports (within limits!). You will perhaps have to temper the use of long words, and maybe tone down your accent and return closer to your roots.

The OP was brought up in England.

Therefore the only Welsh accent s/he can put on is a fake one. That would be more offensive then speaking in his/her normal accent.

However not using long words and trying to sound more "common" by using slang is possible.

Oldernotwiser

olly300 wrote: »

The OP was brought up in England.

Therefore the only Welsh accent s/he can put on is a fake one. That would be more offensive then speaking in his/her normal accent.

However not using long words and trying to sound more "common" by using slang is possible.

Now that the OP is living and working in the area, she may well find her accent starts slipping towards the Welsh ( a week in Edinburgh and I start sounding like Jean Brodie!) which would be no bad thing. I don't think that anyone was suggesting putting on a phony Welsh accent.

ariarnia

Top wiki tips - try making statements sound like questions (rising intonation), and say "edit" and "benefit" as if spelt "edet" and "benefet". South welsh is more about speech mannerisms than a true accent.

safesound

I too am in the south wales valleys and come from Cardiff so I can kind of relate. When in work I am forced to use words I normally wouldnt (ie, smaller) and put across my opinion in a less formal way otherwise I get reactions like "ooh I thought I was in Buckingham palace for a minute then" and "thats a long word, say what you mean". Its really frustrating.
Either do what I do and try to think before you speak so you can phrase it more casually or ignore them and they will get bored of you eventually. Honestly its just because your new and different. They will move on to someone else if you ignore them and show it doesn't bother you.