Painful consequences: A man stands outside an empty retail space in an office building in Washington DC. A third of employees in the US currently have complete freedom about where they work. — AFP
WASHINGTON: Washington’s role as the US capital makes it reliant on government workers for its economic success – and many are choosing to stay home, perhaps for good, leaving vast federal offices empty and the city struggling.
From restaurants hosting federal lobbyists to world-class cultural centres, the city’s fortunes have long been tied to the government employees who operate the machinery of the state.
