Workers at smaller museums are more satisfied than colleagues at the biggest institutions, report finds

"For this data cycle, MMF expanded the reach of the survey as well as the questions. When looking at workplace culture, for example, respondents were asked about the impact of their job on their health. Altogether, 3,100 staff members representing 91 institutions answered the survey, up from the 1,933 staff members at just over 50 museums who took part in the previous report in 2023."

"Locks co-wrote the report with Liz Levine, who is the organisation's manager of publications and events. Unsurprisingly, better pay is the most-cited need, but employees' desire to have a greater say in decisions that affect them is equally important. Locks said it is a little too early to see what the long-term impact of organising will be in the museum world, but overall non-union museum workers make 78% of what their unionised colleagues make."

Museums Moving Forward launched in 2023 with a vision of creating a more just museum sector by 2030. The organization surveyed 3,100 staff across 91 institutions about workplace culture, health impacts, pay, burnout and equity, expanding from 1,933 respondents at just over 50 museums in 2023. Findings show a slight improvement in career satisfaction but persistent low pay, burnout and entrenched inequity, with meaningful change evident mainly where workers have formed unions. Union organizing has increased, with 55% of museum unions formed in the last five years. Non-union workers earn about 78% of unionised colleagues, while unionised workers report greater dissatisfaction on most metrics.

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