In Australia they definitely stand, and actually I'm struggling to think of somewhere where I've noticed they don't. Berlin and Kracow I've seen seated people, but it felt remarkable, like an exception. In England they stand, or at least they do everywhere I can think of, and in Ireland, and the last time I was in Paris although that was more than a couple of years. In Japan they definitely stand.
As to the reason, I would have thought it was just greater mobility and reach.
I've never been to South America, but perhaps it's a new European trend.
Catherine
Quoting Wojtek Sokolowski <sokol at jhu.edu>:
> Why do cashiers in US supermarkets and department stores have to stand while
> doing their jobs? In every supermarket outside the US (mostly Europe and
> South America) that I had a chance to set my foot during the last couple of
> years the cashiers were sitting rather than standing.
>
> None of the usual explanations seem tot apply. The greed of store owners is
> not a good explanation because it does not prevent them from buying chairs
> for office clerks. Besides, standing all day makes people more tired and
> thus decreases their productivity, and that alone may offset the cost of
> buying chairs.
>
> Another possibility is the expectation of "service" (translation:
> ass-kissing) on the part of the customers. Thus people in "waiting" or
> "service" jobs stand rather than sit to demonstrate their "readiness to
> serve." The problem with that explanting is that it remains a moot point
> whether the US-ers are, on average, more service expecting than the rest of
> the world. I am not aware of any comparative studies in this area, except
> perhaps an observation made by the sociologist Peter Berger who claimed to
> make an observation in international conferences he attended that North
> Americans tend to be less demeaning toward hotel staff than Europeans, who
> in turn tend to be less demeaning than South Americans. That observation
> itself is of questionable validity, however, because given Berger's
> occupation, is likely to be limited to sociologists which at least in this
> country are a wussy and bleeding-heart profession.
>
> Are there any occupational studies showing the benefits of standing over
> sitting? Or perhaps any other explanation?
>
> Wojtek
>
>
>
> ___________________________________
> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>
--
---------------------------------------------------------------- This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program.