Corporate Governance and Workplace Mental Health Practices: The Mediating Role of Structured Occupational Safety and Health Engagement

This study examines whether stronger corporate governance is associated with workplace mental health practices and whether this relationship is mediated by a structured sequence of occupational safety and health (OSH) engagement: recognition, goal-setting, and implementation. We analyzed 134 listed companies in Taiwan that published sustainability reports and received corporate governance evaluations between 2014 and 2023. Governance scores—based on shareholder rights, board functioning, transparency, and sustainability—were dichotomized into high vs. low categories. Workplace mental health practices were measured using 24 binary indicators across planning, provision, and reporting. OSH engagement was conceptualized in three stages based on Global Reporting Initiative 403 guidelines, with composite indicators derived via grouped weighted quantile sum regression. Associations were analyzed using generalized linear mixed-effects and serial mediation models. Compared to companies ranked low in corporate governance, those ranked high had a higher likelihood of adopting mental health practices. OSH goal-setting and implementation showed significant positive associations, whereas recognition did not. Serial mediation analysis showed that 83% of the total effect of corporate governance on mental health practices was direct, while 17% was mediated through structured OSH engagement, primarily via implementation. Recognition showed a non-significant effect but initiated significant sequential pathways via goal-setting and implementation. Goal-setting functioned as a bridge within these chains. Corporate governance plays a central role in advancing workplace mental health practices. While most effects are direct, structured OSH engagement helps translate governance priorities into sustained organizational actions that embed mental health into routine practice.