Western cultures see eye contact as a sign of honesty.  But in many cultures, dropped eyes are a sign of respect.  Puerto Rican children are taught not to meet the eyes of adults.  The Japanese are taught to look at the neck.  In Korea, prolonged eye contact is considered rude.  The lower ranking person is expected to look down first.  In Muslim countries, women and men are not supposed to make eye contact.

These differences can lead to miscommunication in the multicultural workplace.  Supervisors may assume from their eye contact that employees are being disrespectful, when, in fact, the employee is behaving appropriately according to the norms of his or her culture.