Stress management practices, mental health and employee performance in Stanbic Bank Limited, Nakasero Branch

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between stress management practices, mental health and employee performance at Stanbic Bank Limited, Nakasero Branch. The specific objectives were to establish the relationship between stress management practices and employee performance, to establish the relationship between mental health and employee performance, to assess the relationship between stress management practices and employees' mental health, and to determine the mediating role of mental health in the relationship between stress management practices and employee performance. The study was anchored on Lazarus and Folkman's Cognitive Theory of Psychological Stress and Coping and adopted a quantitative, cross-sectional survey design. A sample of 66 respondents was selected from a target population of 80 employees using Krejcie and Morgan's (1970) table, and data were collected using a structured, self-administered questionnaire. All 66 questionnaires were completed and returned, representing a 100% response rate. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, simple and multiple linear regression, and the Baron and Kenny (1986) causal-steps procedure supported by a Sobel test were used to analyse the data. The results indicated that stress management practices were significantly and positively related to employee performance (r = 0.363, p < 0.01) and to mental health (r = 0.509, p < 0.01), and that mental health was significantly and positively related to employee performance (r = 0.420, p < 0.01). Multiple regression results showed that, when mental health was included alongside stress management practices in predicting employee performance, the direct effect of stress management practices was no longer statistically significant (β = 0.201, p = 0.128) while mental health remained a significant predictor (β = 0.318, p = 0.018), and the Sobel test confirmed a statistically significant indirect effect (z = 2.168, p = 0.030). Mental health was therefore found to fully mediate the relationship between stress management practices and employee performance. The study concludes that stress management practices alone are not sufficient to improve employee performance at the branch unless they translate into better employee mental health. It recommends that Stanbic Bank Limited strengthen counselling and psychosocial support, workload management, and flexible work arrangements, with deliberate monitoring of employees' psychological well-being, in order to sustain gains in employee performance. Keywords: Stress management practices, mental health, employee performance, mediation, banking sector, Uganda.