This article discusses working conditions, captured as emotion work, in the social and solidarity economy (SSE). Interested in learning more about the impact of participatory governance (PG), frequently ascribed to SSE organisations, we work with reciprocity as qualifier for emotion work across PG settings in Roskilde Festival (RF) Charity. The analysis is based on a case study. Aware that not all SSE organisations are formally democratically organised, we identified informal sites of PG within RF. Our findings open avenues for further research on the dimensions of symbolic reciprocity and how they interact with organisational goals and processes. This extends to understanding better the impact of expectations on work life quality in the interplay with reciprocity and participatory governance in SSEs.