Keep being called posh at work

[Consciousuncouplings]

I've lived on and off in Manchester for a lot of my life but spent around 10 years of my childhood 20 miles away. I've been back in Manchester now for around 5 years, I don't really have the accent, it's quite a neutral one and it's hard to pinpoint exactly where from I think.
I work for a place in Manchester where a lot of the colleagues are from around that area or live close by, most have quite a broad accent.

I've been referred to as posh by them a few times, one the other day commented on 'my accent.'

I once said something and one said 'Oh I thought you'd be too posh to say that."

They're acting as though I speak like the Royal Family, far from it! I'm not posh in the slightest, and my accent is just very neutral, I spent some childhood in a market town about 20 miles away like I say.

I don't know why it bothers me really, but some people seem to associate you with thinking you're above others, snobby and so on and I'm none of those.
When they say it I just say 'no I'm not.'
Does anyone else get things like this and how do you deal with it?

Decide to take it as a compliment?

Tbh I just don't think it's meant as a compliment, but I don't know.

Don't change your accent. Say something like ''if you think I'm different is that allowed? not feeling that different but I presume diversity is allowed around here?''

I've also been asked by somebody why I do the job I do as I 'seem more intelligent than that.' rude thing to say, and I guarantee if I had the manc accent she wouldn't have said that.

people in the south east where I live assume I’m thick because of mine. Not sure what’s worse.

I just don't want it to be a me vs them thing.

That's so rude of them. In what ways do they do it?

Tell them they sound common

Somebody once commented that I sounded like the Queen.

They were Australian though.

I have a non accent but Still northern and often get called posh, I say I may be seen as posh but I am not snobby - I think the negative connotations around posh is people take it as snobby - not the same thing.

However people going on about someone being posh are possibly exercising reverse snobbery (eg if they repeatedly go on about it or make unpleasant comments based on perceived poshness) and snobbery either way is shite.

They'd go mental I bet if I told them they sound common (not saying I think they do)
But it's ok for them to say it.
Yeah, definitely harder to differentiate accents when you're from overseas, so they probably think a lot of us do sound like the Queen!

Of course Posh isn't a compliment for some reason they haven't accepted you for you and want to make you feel awkward. This would definitely put me out.

This is it exactly. Reverse snobbery seems to be allowed. But imagine if you said 'You sound too common to say that.' You'd (rightly) get your arse handed to you, and possibly some sort of disciplinary response from management.
I'd speak to a manager or HR about it. It's no different from any other sort of discrimination/personal insult.

I have found this a bit - from Manchester but a neutral accent. It’s mainly just said in jest, I don’t take it personally, although I do get what you mean that I find it awkward and don’t really know how to respond.

It’s never said in malice though so I don’t make too much of it.

I used to work in Manchester and a lot of the staff travelled in from Bolton or Wigan so had broad accents.

I had the same problem with my neutral accent. Not sure how well you know them but i used to have banter and told them if I'm posh then you're common!

Don't do this if you could face a grievance though🤣

I get this at work sometimes. The reason being I'm Southern and now live in the North. Ironically the place I now live is much posher than where my accent comes from. My colleagues seem to equate Southern with posh/snobby 🙄I just say "well the residents of [my slightly rough hometown] would be surprised to hear you calling my accent posh!"

I’m from Yorkshire but sound very RP, ie quite posh. I laugh and say I lost it on the M1. Don’t make an issue of it.

I get this all the time - it winds me up slightly, but I said to one of the chaps who made a comment that he sounded a bit chavvy and that shut him up! I think if someone's willing to comment on my accent I'll comment on theirs 🤷🏻‍♀️

I think you just need to laugh it off otherwise you will risk coming off as humourless and have it turned against you.

Alternatively, embrace it and start talking like Princess Michael of Kent. Make passing references to your plans for a 'straightforward shooting party' with your friends Tiggy, BumBums and Gloopy. Refer to your colleagues as 'non-U', your sons at 'The School' and that you're going to buy them a 'big boat' (real poshoes never say 'yacht' apparently) when they graduate St Andy's.

I have a similar neutral northern accent. DH likes to gently tease me that I speak like "ee are yo init how d' yoo doo" in some sort of manc / rp hybrid.

I've often been accused of being posh (which I'm not). I just tend to laugh at it and tell them the butler and the groundskeeper would say otherwise.

Grr. I wish people wouldn't comment on accents.

I'm Scottish. I work in London. The comments I get are never bloody ending.
And there is also an underlying assumption on occasion that because I have a regional accent I must be stupid. It is so irritating.

Surely some of the SE accents produce a similar reaction, thinking of 'estuary English' in particular, hardly a lovely sound!

They'd go mental I bet if I told them they sound common

You could just say they they sound “local”.

I used to live in Scotland and used to get people thinking they were 'mimicking' my accent, doing RP. The hilarious thing is, my accent is pretty rough – I spent my childhood in an old coal-mining part of the East Midlands – and my background is pretty working class. Most of those doing it probably had more middle-class childhoods than me, but because a lot of Scottish people have English-shaped chips on their shoulders for some reason English = posh.

That they