C-suite mental wellness and organisational performance: evidence from companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange

Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of executive-level mental wellness programmes on the organisational performance of companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), focusing on four programme dimensions: mental health risk assessment, mental medical care, recreational facilities and job enrichment. Design/methodology/approach A positivist, cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted among 186 C-suite executives from all 62 NSE-listed companies using census sampling. Structured questionnaires measured the four programme dimensions and a balanced scorecard construct of organisational performance. Multiple regression, Pearson correlation and descriptive analyses were conducted using SPSS v.28. Findings C-suite executive mental wellness programmes explain 77.1% of performance variance in NSE-listed companies, with mental health risk assessment as the highest-impact yet least-adopted dimension. Job enrichment serves as a dual wellness-performance lever. A critical gap persists: 73% of firms lack a formal wellness strategy despite universal executive exhaustion. Financial performance shows a moderate association compared to non-financial scorecard outcomes. Research limitations/implications Executive mental wellness programmes are strongly and significantly associated with organisational performance in NSE-listed companies, with the four programme dimensions collectively explaining 77.1% of performance variance. A critical strategy deficit persists: 73% of sampled organisations lack a formal executive wellness strategy, even as all respondents report exhaustion. Mental health risk assessment is both the highest-impact and least-adopted dimension, representing the most urgent investment priority for listed companies seeking to leverage executive wellness as a performance driver. Practical implications Boards should formalise executive wellness governance within corporate risk frameworks and mandate systematic mental health risk assessments for C-suite leaders. HR professionals should co-design bespoke executive wellness programmes that foreground confidentiality, job enrichment and psychological safety. Regulators, including the NSE and Capital Markets Authority, should establish minimum disclosure and compliance standards for executive wellness provision. Theoretically, the study calls for the integration of executive psychological capital as a VRIN resource within RBV-informed organisational strategy frameworks. Originality/value This is among the first large-scale empirical studies of executive-specific mental wellness programmes and their impact on organisational performance in Sub-Saharan Africa. It extends the functional theory of employee welfare and resource-based view to the C-suite level, introduces a conceptual model linking executive psychological capital to firm performance and provides governance-level recommendations for boards and regulators.