In 1932, eleven ironworkers sat casually on a narrow steel beam, hundreds of feet above New York City, eating their lunch as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world. No harnesses. No helmets. No visible safety precautions. Just sandwiches, cigarettes, and an extraordinary tolerance for risk.
The photograph, taken during construction of the Rockefeller Center, has since become one of the most iconic workplace images in history. What makes it so powerful isn’t just the height — it’s the attitude. The men appear relaxed, even comfortable. One reads a newspaper. Another lights a cigarette. Their body language suggests this wasn’t unusual. This was simply work.
Of course, looking at the image through modern eyes, it’s hard not to imagine what they might have been saying to each other. Perhaps a dry joke about gravity. A quiet comment about balance. Or maybe the kind of dark humour workers often use when facing genuine danger.
Today, the contrast couldn’t be greater. Harnesses, guardrails, risk assessments, and strict procedures are now standard. Not because regulations enjoy spoiling the fun — but because experience has taught us the cost of doing otherwise.
Safety rules are often written in response to real events, real injuries, and real losses.
This famous lunch break serves as a powerful reminder of how far workplace safety has come — and why it matters.
And perhaps also, a reminder that humour has always been part of how humans deal with risk… even when sitting 850 feet in the air.