Employee Mental Health Promotion Programmes in Nigerian Banks: A Professional Evaluation of Current Practices and Gaps in Abuja

Employee mental health promotion in Nigeria's formal banking sector has gained increasing attention following the disclosure of high burnout and psychological distress rates among bank workers, yet systematic evaluation of the quality and coverage of existing mental health promotion programmes in Nigerian banks is absent from the professional psychology literature. This study evaluates the scope, design, implementation quality, and perceived effectiveness of employee mental health promotion programmes in commercial banks in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory. A mixed-methods evaluation design is applied, combining a structured audit of mental health programme documents at eight banks with semi-structured interviews of 20 HR managers and 40 employee beneficiaries. Quantitative programme quality indicators are assessed against the WHO Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan benchmarks, and qualitative interview data are analysed thematically. Available occupational psychology literature from Nigeria's banking sector identifies Employee Assistance Programme awareness sessions and stress management workshops as the most common but least comprehensively designed programme formats, with leadership stigma around mental health disclosure as the primary implementation barrier. The Integrated Mental Health Workplace Model and the Positive Organisational Psychology Framework provide the evaluation reference. Findings will guide Nigeria's Bankers' Committee and the Central Bank of Nigeria on setting minimum mental health programme standards. Keywords: employee mental health, workplace mental health promotion, Nigerian banks, Abuja, occupational psychology.