Balancing citizen-centeredness policy and employee well-being

This article examines how citizen-centered governance policies intersect with emotional labor and employee well-being in a frontline public service setting. The purpose of this study is to understand how governance reforms are experienced and enacted through everyday service interactions. Despite increasing attention to citizen- centeredness and public sector performance, there is still a scholarly need to examine the emotional consequences of these reforms for frontline workers, particularly in higher educational institutions. As a result, employee well-being is often treated as a secondary or individual issue rather than as a structural outcome of governance systems. Drawing on qualitative data from open-ended surveys, in- depth interviews, and focus group discussions with registrar staff, service clients, alumni, and supervisors at a public university in the Southern Philippines, this study used thematic analysis to explore emotional experiences and service dynamics. The analysis identified three main themes: the centrality of emotional labor in shaping service quality, the role of system-level constraints in producing emotional strain, and the recognition by both staff and clients of the link between well-being and sustainable service delivery. This article contributes to debates on public administration and emotional labor by reframing emotional regulation as a policy effect. It highlights the importance of integrating employee well-being into citizen-centered governance frameworks.