The Ugly Truth About Invisible Labor

What happens when the institutions you devoted your career to building up were never actually built for you — and the only way forward is to admit the invisible labor is crushing you, the burnout is real, and rest isn't weakness, it's resistance? In this raw and unfiltered episode of The Exit Interview | On Air, hosts Shana Ayabe and Kisha Imani Cameron sit down with Dr. Zaibis Muñoz-Isme and Dr. Alicia Bates, two scholar practitioners who built careers in higher education to change things from the inside. There struggles in higher education mirror professionals navigating today’s corporate culture. From navigating the brutal reality of being the only Latina or Black woman in senior leadership to the invisible labor of mentoring every student of color who walks through your door without it counting toward tenure or promotion, to the breaking point where you realize the institution recruited you for diversity but built zero infrastructure to retain you, this conversation unpacks what it actually costs to show up every day in spaces that weren't built for you. This episode explores: Why your career feels like a toxic relationship that doesn't love you back The invisible labor of being the go-to person without recognition or compensation How institutions spend money recruiting women of color but build no infrastructure to retain them Why COVID exposed the true colors of colleagues and forced impossible choices between grief, work, and survival The reality that to move up in your career you almost always have to move out How Gen Z is teaching millennials about boundaries, rest, and redefining success Why FMLA and rest without regret should be normalized, not stigmatized The truth about being thanked for "coordinating" when you actually did all the work How success shifted from climbing the ladder to investing in family, community, and a calm nervous system Whether you're navigating burnout, trying to figure out if it's time to stay or go, reconciling with the fact that the job you worked so hard for isn't reciprocating opportunities or redefining what success means when your nervous system is screaming for rest, this episode offers unvarnished truth about identity, labor, and what it takes to survive when the system was never designed with you in mind. Guests: Dr. Zaibis Muñoz-Isme | Scholar Practitioner | https://www.linkedin.com/in/zaibis/ Dr. Alicia Bates | Scholar Practitioner | https://www.linkedin.com/in/draliciabates/ Hosts: Shana Ayabe x Kisha Imani Cameron IG: https://www.instagram.com/theexitinterview_onair/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/shana_onair/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/cameroncareercoaching/ Produced by: Grace Media Digital The Exit Interview | On-Air — Real conversations. Navigating invisible labor, burnout, and rest as resistance in higher education. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:52 Meet Dr. Zaibis Muñoz-Isme and Dr. Alicia Bates 00:04:20 The Semester at Sea Effect: Finding Your Path 00:08:50 Living in Qatar and Moving for Career Growth 00:10:53 Grief, Loss, and Navigating COVID While Working 00:15:13 The Current DEI Landscape: Doing the Work Without the Words 00:23:39 The Invisible Labor of Women of Color in Higher Ed 00:21:53 The 24/7 Reality: Retention, Boundaries, and Burnout 00:40:07 COVID Revealed True Colors: Navigating Unprecedented Loss 00:42:00 Learning Boundaries from Gen Z 00:45:20 The Leadership Gap: Why Millennials Are Leaving Higher Ed 00:48:36 When Do You Stay and When Do You Go? 00:54:29 Rest as Resistance: FMLA, Stigma, and Taking Time 01:02:20 Redefining Success: From Titles to Time with Family 01:10:35 What Gives Us Hope: Students and the Next Generation