The hidden pressure of language at work
There are moments at work when language carries more weight than we realise.
A team member joins a meeting knowing what they want to say, but freezes or hesitates when it’s their turn to share an update.
A manager prepares carefully for a presentation, only to worry that one unclear phrase might make them sound less capable than they really are.
From the outside, these moments may look ordinary: a meeting, a presentation. But for employees working in a second language, they can demand a level of effort that often goes unseen.
At a time when wellbeing is declining across UK workplaces, this matters. Research by Great Place to Work and Johns Hopkins University suggests that frontline managers are among those experiencing the highest levels of job-related stress.
Stress has many causes, of course. Workload, responsibility, uncertainty, and pressure all play their part. Yet one source is still too easily overlooked: language.
Understanding language anxiety
For employees who use a non-native language at work, communication is not just about finding the right words. It also involves keeping pace, reading the room, sounding professional, understanding nuance and expressing ideas clearly under pressure.
Over time, that added effort can develop into something more serious: language anxiety.
Research published in Current Psychology examined how language anxiety develops in multinational organisations where employees are expected to use a non-native language at work. The study* found that when employees must communicate in a language that is not their mother tongue, everyday workplace situations such as meetings and presentations can feel far more demanding.
This continual extra effort can lead to stress, self-doubt and hesitation. In the long term, it can affect not only how confidently someone communicates, but also their wellbeing and performance at work.
Workplace scenarios that create language anxiety
Language runs through every part of an organisation. Common situations where language anxiety can arise include:
Participating in meetings and live discussions: In a fast-moving meeting, even a confident employee may need a few extra seconds to find the right words. By the time they are ready to speak, the conversation may already have moved on. Over time, this can make people hesitate, contribute less or avoid speaking altogether.
Handling sensitive or high-stakes conversations: Client meetings, interviews and difficult discussions require precision in both language and tone. When someone is worried about sounding too direct, choosing the wrong word, or being misunderstood, the conversation can feel far more stressful.
How colleagues can unintentionally add pressure: Colleagues can add pressure without meaning to. Interrupting, speaking too quickly, finishing someone’s sentence, or talking over them may seem minor. Even when unintentional, these behaviours can undermine confidence.
Reporting structures: People often need to communicate differently with clients, managers, peers and their own teams. Each audience brings different expectations and nuances. In a second language, adjusting tone, formality, and nuance can add another layer of pressure.
If language anxiety is affecting you
For the person experiencing it, language anxiety can feel deeply frustrating. You may know your subject well, but struggle to demonstrate your true ability because language has become a barrier.
- Notice where the pressure shows up: Start by identifying the situations that feel most difficult. Is it speaking in meetings, handling client conversations or responding quickly to questions? Naming the pressure point makes it easier to understand what kind of support would help.
- Prepare for the moments that matter most: Instead of trying to improve everything at once, focus on the communication tasks that have the greatest impact on your work. This might mean preparing key phrases for meetings, practising how to explain your role or building confidence in answering questions you are often asked.
- Ask for support where it is needed: If language is affecting your confidence or performance at work, it’s reasonable to ask what support is available. This could include training, mentoring or feedback on specific communication tasks.
How organisations can support language confidence
For employers, managers and wellbeing teams, language anxiety can be easy to miss. It may look like silence, hesitation or a lack of confidence, when in reality the person may be working hard to keep up, translate mentally and communicate clearly.
There are practical steps you can take to identify where communication feels most difficult for your people. Once you understand where the greatest pressure points are, you’ll be better placed to respond effectively.
- Create space for honest conversations about language confidence: If you manage or support employees, encourage your teams to talk openly about where communication feels most challenging. Language anxiety often remains hidden because people fear it will be seen as a competence issue. Open discussion helps identify where support is needed and reinforces that language development is part of professional growth.
- Gather insight from employee feedback: Use engagement surveys and one-to-one meetings to ask specific questions about language and communication. Combine this feedback with what you learn from speaking with your teams. This helps build a clearer picture of where employees feel confident, and where communication demands may be creating additional strain.
- Review communication demands across roles and teams: Identify when and where employees are expected to work in a language that is not their native language, focusing on roles, teams or individuals with higher communication demands, as this is often where language anxiety is most acute.
- Integrate language support into your wellbeing strategy: Treat language confidence as part of wellbeing, not only as skills development. Personalised workplace language support can help employees communicate with less strain, participate more fully and feel more confident expressing themselves at work.
For organisations, supporting language confidence is not simply about improving language skills. It’s about helping people contribute with less strain and feel more confident in the moments that matter most at work.
*Understanding language barrier: how employee language anxiety impacts employee innovative performance by Yulin Xia, Xiaoyan Wei and Jian Tang.
