Transition of the Identities of Professional Services Staff in UK Higher Education to Overcome Working Environment Change and Conflicts: Exploring the Dynamics of Organizational Identities

Abstract

 How do non-academic university professionals develop their identities in the workplace while facing organizational changes and difficulties? Due to increasing pressure to meet the needs of the society, higher education professionals are required to cover more diverse and market-oriented work apart from the simple and conventional routine tasks. This paper focuses on transitioning organizational identity to explore how professional staff in higher education in the UK position themselves within the organization and overcome difficulties.

 Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine UK professional staff in the higher education sector, and the interview transcripts were meticulously examined. It was revealed that professional staff in UK higher education have a stabilized resilience system, an “organizational identity rebuilder,” to constantly reconstruct their organizational identity, which allows them to navigate professional difficulties and conflicts.