15 Vintage Photos Where Work Life ‘Balance’ is Literal
Some people complain about their office chairs. Others spend their workdays standing on steel beams hundreds of feet above traffic, cleaning windows outside skyscrapers, or climbing structures that most of us would rather admire from the sidewalk. Working at extreme heights is nothing new, either. Vintage photographs show construction crews balancing on unfinished buildings long before modern safety equipment became standard. Today’s workers have better gear, but their offices can still look pretty terrifying. And somehow, plenty of them seem perfectly comfortable up there. These 15 photos capture people doing their jobs at heights that would make most of us reconsider our career choices.
The Chrysler Building Had Some Brave Workers
Construction workers wave from the steel framework of New York’s Chrysler Building in 1929, while the skyscraper is still taking shape.
Cleaning Windows Was Never a Desk Job
Window cleaners work along the outside of the World Trade Center in a 1979 photograph, with the city visible far below.
Just Another Day Outside the Office
A New York window cleaner works outside a high-rise building in a photograph shared as dating from 1950.
Radio Tower Maintenance Was Pretty Intense
Workers inspect the metal framework of a radio tower in Königs Wusterhausen, Germany, in 1930, reportedly standing 280 meters above the ground.
Window Washing, 1958 Edition
A photograph identified as New York City in 1958 shows window cleaners working outside a building on East 48th Street.
Taking Five Above the Water
Construction workers pause high on the steel structure of Auckland Harbour Bridge in a photograph dated 1959.
Seattle’s Most Terrifying Office View
An ironworker poses high above Seattle in a photograph shared as dating from 1980, with the city stretching out below.
Experience Came With a Serious View
A construction worker sits high on the steel framework of the Empire State Building in 1930, photographed by Lewis Hine during its construction.
Twelve Stories Up and Still Working
A construction worker installs metal framing on Portland’s HollywoodHUB housing development in January 2026, surrounded by the building’s unfinished structure.
The Empire State Building Needs Maintenance Too
A photograph shows maintenance workers on top of the Empire State Building, surrounded by the tower’s upper structure.
Lunch With a Serious View
Construction workers sit along a steel beam during a 1932 publicity photo shoot at Rockefeller Center, eating lunch with Manhattan spread out beneath them.
Chicago’s Highest Window Cleaning Job
A window cleaner works outside Chicago’s Lake Point Tower in March 2025, with low clouds partially obscuring the building.
The View From 57 Stories Up
A former window cleaner shared a photograph taken from a suspended scaffold 57 stories above the ground, showing the view from the job.
Welding While Hanging From Ropes
A rope access technician shared a photograph of himself welding while suspended by ropes, with his equipment attached to the structure.
Even the Photographer Had to Get Up There
A photograph shows a photographer positioned high on the steelwork during the famous 1932 Rockefeller Center construction shoot.