The Emotional Adaptation in Careers of Young Civil Servants: Evidence from Chinese Townships

In parallel to intellectual factors, the emotional adaptation has become a topic worth exploring for turnover of newly recruited servants. A qualitative study was conducted, based on field research in townships in central China. Data from semi-structured interviews and participant observation were analyzed thematically introducing the Theory of Emotional Regime as a novel lens. This paper defines emotional adaptation as an acquired practice of diverse emotional regimes in a specific occupational field. The emotional adaptation of young civil servants is an acquired capability to navigate and switch between bureaucratic and rural emotional regimes embedded in their work. We identify a three-stage adaptation process: initial acceptance, active utilization for task completion, and strategic employment to mitigate discomfort. The analysis demonstrates how this adaptation functions to foster cultural identity acquisition, establish personal charisma, and secure job support. This research advances the study of civil servant adaptation in China by shifting focus from generalized stress to a practice-based negotiation of institutional and local affective logics, offering new insights for personnel management and training in grassroots governance.