The survey of more than 270 company directors by the spoken communications consultancy The Aziz Corporation found company directors are 10 times more likely to find politically correct jokes acceptable in the office today than they did 10 years ago, when nearly 40% considered jokes to be unacceptable at all times.
In the 1999 survey only 1% of respondents found politically correct jokes acceptable in internal meetings, while today the figure is nearly 70%.
There is also a shift in what is considered offensive and inoffensive. In the earlier survey 64% of directors thought politically incorrect jokes were acceptable in informal conversations with colleagues, if funny. Today the proportion has dropped to 47%.
Ten years ago all respondents considered mild swear words in internal meetings to be unacceptable. Today 50% have no objection, with nearly 20% even accepting strong language in the office.
Khalid Aziz, chairman of The Aziz Corporation, commented: "British business has been stereotyped for its formality but this survey demonstrates a dramatic change.
"I suspect this process has accelerated during the recession when people are desperate for anything that will raise their spirits. Britain has a longstanding tradition of gallows humour and that may also be a factor."
