Brits Say Sorry 3,285 Times a Year—Even When They’re Not to Blame

Researchers studied a group of 2,000 Britons and found that, on average, we utter the word “sorry” as many as nine times a day – that’s 3,285 times a year.

According to the study, 90 percent of us routinely apologise for things which weren’t even our fault, such as somebody bumping into us.

Overall, 30 percent of those who took party in the survey, recognise the need to apologise for the smallest things, as a uniquely British trait.

While 78 percent of Brits routinely apologise for bumping into people in the street, and 64 percent say “sorry” when trying to squeeze past someone in a queue.

More than half (58 percent) seek forgiveness when accidentally treading on someone’s foot and 57 percent apologise when they accidentally interrupt someone.

Asking someone to repeat what they said (46 percent), answering the phone when someone is with you (40 percent), sneezing (36 percent) and even coughing (34 percent) also produce an apology from Brits, along with a staff member having to come to help you at the self-checkout (25 percent) or someone holding the door for you, so you have to run (24 percent). 

One in five (20 percent) admit they say sorry when asking a colleague to do something at work, while 19 percent apologise when someone accidentally treads on THEIR foot. 

HOWEVER, while we may be quick to apologise for the small stuff, as many as two thirds (62 percent) admit that it is easier to say sorry for something small, than something bigger, such as hurting the feelings of a good friend, according to the findings by Interflora.

As many as 29 percent feel that sorry really is the hardest word when you’ve fallen out with a friend or family member.

In fact, half (53 percent) have fallen out with a loved one for more than a year and still haven’t plucked up the courage to make amends.

Despite these challenges, over two thirds (69 percent) would like to reach out to a friend they’ve fallen out with.

In fact, one in four (25 percent) said that a broken friendship is more painful than a romantic breakup.

Making the first move to reconcile is difficult, with 15 percent not liking confrontation, and ten percent struggling to find the right words.

Bethany Day, Brand Manager at Interflora, who commissioned the survey says, ‘‘We’re a nation that says sorry without thinking – for sneezing, for asking too many questions, even when someone else bumps into us. But our research shows when it comes to the apologies that really matter, like mending a broken friendship or owning up to hurting someone we care about, we seriously struggle. 

“We’re happy to have partnered with illustrator, Lucy Claire Dunbar, who has designed a beautiful, bespoke card, to help people reach out and make amends with a friend, as part of our ‘Make Amends May’ campaign.’’

The research shows its good news for those thinking of reconciling, a one in five (20 percent) think that making amends can ACTUALLY help strengthen friendships and make them more resilient than they were before.

*Taken from a recent article in Country Life… our propensity for apologising has a lot to do with our geography, argues etiquette coach William Hanson, whose book Just Good Manners steers readers through the minefield of proper behaviour. ‘We are a small island nation. We don’t have vast expanses of land to run away to if we annoy somebody,’ he explains. ‘We have to struggle on and we’re very conscious of that.’

“Language expert Henry Hitchings, whose books include Sorry! The English and their Manners, agrees that it’s ‘living on a densely populated island’ that makes us so prone to apologising. ‘British people are — arguably — especially wary of encroaching on other people’s space,’ he reflects, going on to explain that it’s ‘a mechanism for avoiding confrontation’ and ‘an easy means of lubricating our everyday interactions’.”

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