This week, The Atlantic Magazine devoted its "Americans at Work" photo essay to photography the daily lives and spaces of workers in Philadelphia's Municipal Offices.

“Philadelphia City Hall appears almost as a place of worship rather than a government building. Thinking of City Hall as a workspace made me consider the vast differences between all of the City’s municipal offices—what is a typical city employee's office like in such a building?", said the author of the series, photographer Ryan Collerd.

"An employee can find themselves sitting at mid century desk working on a 21st century computer while referencing a ledger book from 1887. Philadelphia City Hall is like a time capsule no one is quite ready to put the lid on. Over time, as Philadelphia grew, more municipal offices have been built to accommodate the needs of the city", he said.

Despite having to deal with stressful situations, "most everyone I came in contact with had a positive outlook on their job and an obvious sense of pride in being a city employee. Many of them had also been there for years, holding numerous positions—a testament to the relative security and stability of a city job in uncertain times.”

Watch the full photography essay in The Altantic magazine website.