Renegotiating Work Identity in Organizational Change: A Processual Analysis of Group Interventions in the Italian Prison System

Background: The Italian prison system has experienced considerable normative reforms, which have altered professional practices and institutional interactions within a highly bureaucratic environment. In such situations, organizational change may generate ambivalence, confusion, and emotional distress among professionals. However, limited attention has been paid to how organizational members process and symbolically elaborate change in their daily work experience, particularly in terms of work identity. Methods: This qualitative study adopts a process-oriented perspective to examine the dynamics emerging within a reflective group intervention (RGI) implemented following the institutional reform, as well as how work identity is symbolically constructed within this setting. The intervention was based on a systems psychodynamic framework and involved a group of 12 prison administration employees. Textual data from the group sessions were analyzed using T-LAB, lexicometric software combining Elementary Context and Correspondence Analyses to support qualitative interpretation, capturing processual patterns and symbolic tensions. Results: Findings show that participants’ narratives were organized into three interconnected domains: representations of organizational complexity, relational dynamics, and the negotiation of work identity within hierarchical structures. These processes were associated with tensions between subjective experience and institutional role positioning, as well as individual regulation and organizational belonging. Conclusion: Overall, the results suggest that RGIs might serve as reflective spaces supporting the collective symbolic elaboration of organizational change, through which professionals may rethink the meaning of their professional roles within changing institutional contexts.