16. Museums Run on Emotional Labor, But Why isn't it Valued?

There’s a kind of work happening in museums that doesn’t show up in job descriptions, annual reports, or performance reviews, but it shapes everything.The way you calm a frustrated visitor, hold space for a volunteer going through a hard time, how you navigate conflict, or carry the emotional weight of your community.It’s the work beneath the work.In this episode of Curate Your Career, Alli Schell and Elin Filbey sit down with Ashley Witherspoon, licensed clinical social worker and founder of Handmade Dreams, LLC to talk about invisible, emotional labor and why museum work is far more complex than what we measure.Ashley shares how her background in healthcare led her into museums, what she sees as the biggest gaps in support for museum workers, and how we can begin to name, track, and advocate for the full scope of what this work actually requires.Together, they unpack:what emotional and invisible labor actually look like in museum roleswhy so much of this work goes unrecognized (and unsupported)how burnout in museums mirrors what we see in healthcarethe gaps in training, onboarding, and workplace preparationhow museum workers can start documenting and advocating for this laborand what it means to rethink “worth” beyond metrics and productivityIf you’ve ever felt like the hardest parts of your job are the ones no one sees, this episode will put language to that experience and give you a place to start.Learn more about Ashley's new initiative, MuseMind! Key TakeawaysEmotional and invisible labor are core parts of museum work, not “extra” tasksThe most impactful work museum professionals do often isn’t reflected in metricsBurnout isn’t just about workload. it’s about unrecognized and unsupported laborMuseums tend to operate reactively instead of proactively when it comes to staff wellbeingTraining is a major gap across the fieldYou can begin advocating for yourself by documenting the labor that happens “below the waterline”Worth is not something you earn through productivity, it’s something you already haveSmall shifts (like naming this work in meetings or reviews) can lead to larger systemic changeRest, boundaries, and recovery time are not luxuries, they’re necessary for sustainabilityMuseum workers are deeply embedded in their communities and carry that impact both inside and outside of workChapters00:00 The Talk That Sparked This Episode03:00 Ashley’s Path from Healthcare to Museums08:00 Museums as Spaces for Connection + Care13:00 Defining Emotional and Invisible Labor18:00 The Iceberg: What’s Above vs. Below the Surface24:00 Burnout, Turnover, and Lack of Support30:00 Why Museums Are Always “Chasing Fires”36:00 Training Gaps and Frontline Staff Realities42:00 Making Invisible Labor Visible (and Measurable)48:00 Rethinking Worth Beyond Metrics55:00 Stop, Start, Continue: Practical Strategies1:02:00 Rest, Boundaries, and Recovery Time1:07:00 What Museums Can Learn from Healthcare1:12:00 Ashley’s Work + Museum Wellness Guide Keywordsmuseum careersmuseum professionalsemotional laborinvisible labormuseum burnoutmuseum workplace culturemuseum jobscareer sustainabilitymuseum leadershipworkplace wellbeingmuseum training gapsmuseum advocacymuseum workforce