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Eastern State Penitentiary

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Eastern State Penitentiary Reviews

3.4

37% would recommend to a friend

(37 total reviews)

Sara Jane Elk

54% approve of CEO

32% positive business outlook

Eastern State Penitentiary has an employee rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars, based on 37 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Eastern State Penitentiary employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Arts, entertainment and recreation industry (3.9 stars).

Reviews by job title

37 reviews
5.0
4 Mar 2026

Great place to work

Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Lots of diversity and an ethos of learning fir all staff.

Cons

Wish it wasn't a seasonal job.

1.0
4 Feb 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great coworkers and an incredible place to spend time. In theory the mission is a draw, and talking to guests about history is fun.

Cons

Hands down the most toxic management culture I've encountered in a work place. I do not know what has gone wrong with leadership. They refuse to communicate basic information to their staff and regularly treat them like dirt. This seems to be a problem coming down from leadership setting the precedent for a culture of exploitation, mismanagement and abuse. Management runs their business on antagonism between each other and between them and their staff. No upward mobility for most staff. Great if you are in college or retired, but do not expect to move anywhere with it except as a stepping stone to get somewhere else.

1.0
29 Jan 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Unique and fascinating atmosphere and great people. Plus, there are unionized positions (not that that will save anyone from site-wide layoffs)

Cons

Leadership is severely out of touch and has pivoted toward a cold, corporate culture that disregards frontline staff. HR is handled by a single individual who lacks the experience and professionalism required for the role; there is a persistent track record of HR avoiding putting restrictive or unpleasant decisions in writing to evade accountability. Furthermore, they will blatantly ignore emails containing questions they simply do not want to answer. Management’s response to unionization has been equally hostile. They have openly defied the union and used high-paid legal counsel to intimidate workers rather than engaging in good-faith negotiations. It is disheartening to see a site with such history be led with so little regard for the "on the ground" experts who actually run the site.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 37 Reviews

Glassdoor has 42 Eastern State Penitentiary reviews submitted anonymously by Eastern State Penitentiary employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Eastern State Penitentiary is right for you.