Hi everyone. I've lived in Japan, US, UK, and I would like to provide what I have experienced in these countries.
In England or U.S, when we have dinner in a relatively expensive restaurant, it is NOT considered polite (or proper) to cross your legs and hold your knive and folk. When you sit with your legs crossed, your posture would not be quite straight, and the way you use your knive and folk would look odd. Also, when you cross you legs, it would be difficult to keep your back straight. You would have a "hatch back", which is not considered to be elegant in anyway. In Japan, when you sit on a chair and hold a pair of chop sticks, you would find it very difficult to keep your back straight and have your bowl of rice and a pair of chop sticks. You would look very odd doing that. When you are dining in the U.K, U.S or Japan, is it not considered to be good. You would not be credited for your manners for sure.
Now, lets zoom into the interviews. Lets assume that you are sitting on a chair with a table right in front of you. In the situation like this, you get several options. A) You cross your legs. B) You cross you legs and have your hands on the table C) You do not cross you legs and just sit D) You do not cross you legs and you place your hands on the table. Other things being equal, you are more likely to give a positive impression to the person who is interviewing you if you choose the option D). By opting for D), you would lean your body towards the table, and show you positive (aggressive in a good way) of yourself. This shows that you are keen to get a job, and that you could be seen as a person who is slightly aggressive (this would depend on how you talk, ofcourse). This applies to the interview situations in the U.S, U.K and Japan.
Now, in the interview situation with no table in front, its a totally different ball game. Other things being equal, in the U.S, you would be considered as just a normal candidate. In the U.K, you would be considered as rather rude, and in Japan, you are likely to get no job offers. :)
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