This article delves into the ‘dark side’ of people management – i.e. the negative impact of people management on employee well-being and performance. Although people management – a combination of line managers’ implementation of HR practices and their supportive leadership behavior – generally positively influences employee well-being and performance, some empirical evidence suggests the existence of a dark side. However, insights on how this phenomenon occurs remain limited. This study’s aim was to expose underlying mechanisms by studying the processes through which people management results in unfavorable employee responses. We utilized a multi-actor qualitative approach by conducting 55 interviews amongst line managers and employees in Dutch hospitals using the Critical Incident Technique. The findings identify five manifestations of the dark side of people management, highlighting line managers’ behavior that elicit negative employee responses: 1) untransparent, 2) clumsy, 3) demanding, 4) overly-enthusiastic, and 5) decisive people management. We highlight that the dark side of people management is a dynamic process: it is contingent on the interaction over time between a line manager, employee and the wider context. We find that the dark side is not necessarily bad: when effectively reflected upon by line managers and employees it can provide opportunities for learning and growth.
