A third of Brits have admitted to crying in public in the last 12 months, showing the stereotype of Britons having a ‘stiff upper lip’ is no longer true.

With a quarter of millennials confessing to tearing up in the workplace, it seems that instead, Brits are becoming known for their ‘public displays of emotion’ or PDEs.

In a further shift towards a more emotional culture, one in five (20 per cent) feel they have become more comfortable with PDEs over the past ten years.

The research by Privilege Insurance found we have no shame in crying in public with one in 10 (8 per cent) wearing their hearts on their sleeves and admitting to showing PDEs every single month, increasing to 15 per cent of millennials.

Oversharing is also on the rise, with 3.6 million comfortable confiding in a complete stranger they sat next to on public transport personal information, whilst over 1.5 million women would be happy to share their troubles with their hairdresser.

However, it’s clear that we still have trouble sharing with our nearest and dearest, with one in two (50 per cent) of us not being comfortable showing emotion in front of our partners.

As a nation of animal lovers though, it’s unsurprising that one in three (28 per cent) will cry in front of our pets.

There’s also unsurprisingly a gender divide when it comes to PDEs, with half as many men feeling comfortable crying in front of their friends (25 per cent) as women (52 per cent).

Women are also twice as likely to show emotion in front of strangers (45 per cent vs. 26 per cent).

However, it’s in the workplace that the genders really differ. One in five (20 per cent) women have admitted to crying in the workplace in the last year, almost three times as many as their male counterparts (7 per cent).

Men are happier to show their emotions when it comes to sport, as almost one million of them have admitted to crying at a football match in the past year, probably in front of tens of thousands of people, not to mention, TV cameras.

Surprisingly, 1.24pm was found to be the most emotional time of the day, in the middle of traditional working hours.

PDEs in the workplace span a number of emotions, with 42 per cent of Brits happy to express sadness, 39 per cent anger and one in four (25 per cent) to show fear.

However, the green-eyed monster is something we still want to keep under wraps, as only 11 per cent will express envy in the office.

Meanwhile, it’s reassuring to hear that one in seven (14 per cent) Brits have assisted a stranger displaying PDEs.

Brighton is the most caring city, with a quarter (26 per cent) offering a shoulder to cry on and Newcastle the city most likely to turn a blind eye to PDE (22 per cent).

Christian Mendes, Head of Privilege Home Insurance, said: “As a British brand we were interested to see if the stereotype of us having a ‘stiff upper lip’ was still alive and well.

“What we actually found was the polar opposite, causing us to redefine Brits’ attitudes to emotions by coining the phrase PDEs, or ‘public displays of emotion.’

“It’s great to see that perceptions are changing and people are more accepting and aware of other people’s emotions, especially in the workplace."

Emotions we’d be comfortable expressing in front of work colleagues

1.    Happiness (63%)

2.    Joy (49%)

3.    Sadness (42%)

4.    Anger (39%)

5.    Disgust (30%)

6.    Love (28%)

7.    Fear (25%)

8.    Hate (16%)

9.    Shame (12%)

10.  Envy (11%)

Most Caring Cities

1.    Brighton

2.    Glasgow

3.    Belfast

4.    Manchester

5.    Southampton

6.    Leeds

7.    London

8.    Liverpool

9.    Newcastle

10.  Nottingham

11.  Sheffield

12.  Bristol

13.  Cardiff

14.  Edinburgh

15.  Norwich

16.  Birmingham

17.  Plymouth

ENDS

For more information, please contact: Georgie Bruer at Richmond & Towers:

[email protected] / 020 3179 0720

Notes to editors:

Research carried out amongst a nationally representative sample of 2000 UK adults by Opinium Research between 26^th and 29^th April 2019.

Privilege

Privilege Insurance specialises in home insurance for homeowners and landlords. It also offers car insurance and breakdown cover by phone or on-line.

Privilege general insurance policies are underwritten by U K Insurance Limited, Registered office: The Wharf, Neville Street, Leeds LS1 4AZ. Registered in England and Wales No 1179980. U K Insurance Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

Privilege and UK Insurance Limited are both part of Direct Line Insurance Group plc.  

Customers can find out more about Privilege’s products or get a quote by calling

0345 246 0515 or visiting www.privilege.co.uk