Brits are known for being endlessly polite.
Whether it’s our love of a good queue, our over-use of ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ or holding the door open for someone, we constantly strive to have good manners.
Now, experts have revealed that we’re also excessively apologetic.
Researchers recruited 2,000 people for their study about saying ‘sorry’.
They discovered that 90 per cent of us routinely apologise for things which weren’t our fault.
This includes things like someone else bumping into us or having a bad phone signal.
Experts have warned that while we often say sorry without thinking, we can struggle to apologise for things that really matter.
They revealed how often people say sorry per day – so, how do you compare?
A study of 2,000 people revealed we say ‘sorry’ up to nine times per day – and that Brits tend to apologise for the smallest things
Analysis showed that Brits utter the word ‘sorry’ as many as nine times a day – the equivalent of 3,285 times a year.
Nearly a third said they recognise the need to apologise for the smallest things as a uniquely British trait.
Asking someone to repeat what they said, answering the phone when someone is with you, sneezing and even coughing can produce an apology.
The findings also revealed we regularly apologise when a staff member comes to help at the self-checkout, or when someone holds the door open so you have to run.
One in five admit they say sorry when asking a colleague to do something at work, while 19 percent apologise when someone accidentally treads on their foot.
Meanwhile, two thirds said it is easier to say sorry for something small than for something bigger such as hurting the feelings of a good friend.
More than half who have fallen out with a loved one said they still haven’t plucked up the courage to make amends a year later.
Bethany Day, Brand Manager at Interflora, who commissioned the survey, said: ‘We’re a nation that says sorry without thinking – for sneezing, for asking too many questions, even when someone else bumps into us.
According to the study, 90 percent of us routinely apologise for things which weren’t even our fault, such as somebody bumping 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.’
Analysis also showed that over two thirds would like to reach out to a friend they’ve fallen out with.
And many also believed that making amends can help strengthen friendships and make them more resilient than they were before.
Meanwhile a quarter said a broken friendship is more painful than a romantic breakup.
Interflora have partnered with illustrator Lucy Claire Dunbar, who has designed a bespoke card to help people reach out and make amends with a friend.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .