The effect of foreign accent on employability : a study of the aural dimensions of aesthetic labour in customer-facing and non-customer-facing jobs
Abstract
Using quantitative methods, this article examines the effect of foreign accents on job applicants’ employability ratings in the context of a simulated employment interview experiment conducted in the USA. It builds upon the literature on aesthetic labour, which focuses largely on the role of physical appearance in employment relations, by shifting attention to its under-investigated auditory and aural dimensions. The results suggest that the managerial respondents actively discriminate in telephone-based job interviews against applicants speaking Chinese-, Mexican- and Indian-accented English, and all three are rated higher in non-customer-facing jobs than in customer-facing jobs. Job applicants who speak British-accented English, especially men, fare as well as, and at times better than, native candidates who speak American English. The article makes a contribution to the sociological literatures surrounding aesthetic labour and discrimination and prejudice against migrant workers.
Citation
Timming , A R 2017 , ' The effect of foreign accent on employability : a study of the aural dimensions of aesthetic labour in customer-facing and non-customer-facing jobs ' , Work, Employment and Society , vol. 31 , no. 3 , pp. 409-428 . https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017016630260
Publication
Work, Employment and Society
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0950-0170Type
Journal article
Rights
© 2016, the Author. This work is made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the author created, accepted version manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0950017016630260
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