ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE AS A DETERMINANT OF EMPLOYEE MENTAL HEALTH: A CONCEPTUAL INTEGRATION FOR SOUTHWEST NIGERIA

Abstract

In contemporary occupational health discourse, the deterioration of workforce psychological well-being represents an escalating crisis manifest both on a macroeconomic global scale and within the specific socio-economic fabric of Nigeria. The attendant reports of issues of suicide, depression, etc. have become commonplace. This paper investigates the role of organisational culture as a predictor of employee mental health. This is a way of proffering a solution to the lack of theoretical development in this area. This study synthesises the Job Utilizing the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) Model, Social Exchange Theory (SET), and Psychosocial Safety Climate (PSC) Theory, thereby offering a unified interdisciplinary framework to explain the phenomenon rooted in the sociocultural context of southwest Nigeria. Four distinct dimensions of organisational culture: mission, consistency, involvement, and adaptability, are established as playing a pivotal role in shaping employee mental health. By connecting organisational culture to mental health through perceived support and psychological safety, the proposed framework establishes four testable propositions that include a formal moderated mediation pathway. This paper consolidates fragmented literature, directly addresses the Western-centric bias prevalent in occupational health theory, and offers a research agenda that is contextually relevant for Nigeria.