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The effect of foreign accent on employability: a study of the aural dimensions of aesthetic labour in customer-facing and non-customer-facing jobs

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  • Andrew R Timming

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew R Timming, 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 & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 31(3), pages 409-428, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:woemps:v:31:y:2017:i:3:p:409-428
    DOI: 10.1177/0950017016630260
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    1. Segrest Purkiss, Sharon L. & Perrewe, Pamela L. & Gillespie, Treena L. & Mayes, Bronston T. & Ferris, Gerald R., 2006. "Implicit sources of bias in employment interview judgments and decisions," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 101(2), pages 152-167, November.
    2. Frances McGinnity & Peter D. Lunn, 2011. "Measuring discrimination facing ethnic minority job applicants: an Irish experiment," Work, Employment & Society, British Sociological Association, vol. 25(4), pages 693-708, December.
    3. Chris Warhurst & DENNIS NICKSON & ANNE WITZ & ANNE MARIE CULLEN, 2000. "Aesthetic Labour in Interactive Service Work: Some Case Study Evidence from the ‘New’ Glasgow," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(3), pages 1-18, July.
    4. Massey, Douglas S., 2005. "Worlds in Motion: Understanding International Migration at the End of the Millennium," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199282760.
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    Cited by:

    1. Esther Salmerón-Manzano & Francisco Manzano-Agugliaro, 2017. "Worldwide Scientific Production Indexed by Scopus on Labour Relations," Publications, MDPI, vol. 5(4), pages 1-14, October.

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