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Mental Health Questions

By the CITB Practice Test Team. Checked against hse.gov.uk and legislation.gov.uk, 31 October 2026.

CITB mental health questions test whether you know the signs of stress and what to do about them, and the right answer usually talks to someone early and points the worker to proper help.

Worker in a yellow hard hat and hooded jacket seen from behind, facing blurred street lights

Many questions describe a workmate who is acting differently and ask what a supervisor should do, or ask which six areas HSE's Management Standards cover. Others ask who you could talk to if the pressure comes from your own manager. Our questions are built on HSE's guidance on work-related stress and mental health at work, including its Talking Toolkit for construction. A common trap: waiting to see if things settle down feels kind, but HSE says the earlier a problem is tackled, the less impact it will have. Take the timed quiz below, then read the 10 sample questions further down, each with a worked explanation. Practise mental health before your Operatives health, safety and environment test or a Specialist test.

If you think someone may be suicidal, HSE advises urging them to get help from their GP, an employee assistance programme, the Samaritans, or a trusted friend or family member.

Start the mental health quiz

The timed mental health quiz draws from our full mental health set and explains every answer. The quiz is free: 1 quiz every 7 days without an account, or 30 a day with a free account. A paid plan gives you unlimited quizzes.

Free practice quiz

Mental Health practice quiz (timed)

questions
20
questions
minutes
30
minutes
to pass (90%)
18
to pass (90%)

Ready when you are

Find a quiet 30 minutes. The clock starts when you press start, and you see your score the moment you submit.

  • Answers and explanations are shown at the end, with every question to review.
  • A fresh set of questions every attempt, drawn from our Mental Health set.
  • About 90 seconds a question, against about 54 in the real test, so there is time to think.
  • Every answer comes with a worked explanation.

How do CITB mental health questions usually ask it?

Mental health questions usually describe a change in someone, name the Management Standards, or put you under pressure at work, then ask what it means or who to talk to.

Question patternWhat it looks like, in our wordsWhat the right answer usually does
Signs of stressA workmate is taking more time off, arriving late, withdrawn or snapping at people, and you choose what it might mean or what to doTreats the change as a possible sign of stress. HSE says a worried manager should encourage the worker to see their GP, because the signs can be symptoms of other conditions
The Management StandardsYou pick the right list of six areas, or match an example to one of themNames demands, control, support, relationships, role and change, the six areas of work design that HSE says affect stress levels
Getting helpYou feel under pressure, or the pressure comes from your own line manager, and you choose who to talk toTalks to someone early, such as a manager. If the manager is the cause, HSE lists a trade union or employee representative, HR, an employee assistance programme or counselling service, or your GP

Which law and guidance are mental health questions based on?

Our mental health questions are built mainly on HSE's guidance on work-related stress and its Management Standards, with HSE's mental health and suicide prevention pages for spotting problems and finding support.

Law or guidanceWhat the questions take from it
HSE, Work-related stress and how to manage itHSE's definition of stress, the employer's legal duty to assess the risk of stress and act on it, and the signs of stress in teams and in a worker
HSE Management StandardsThe six areas of work design and what should be happening in each, such as demands that are achievable in the agreed hours
HSE guidance on mental health conditions at work, for managers and for employeesTalking at an early stage, avoiding assumptions about what someone can do, and the fact that most people with mental health problems carry on working
HSE Talking Toolkit, Preventing work-related stress in constructionSix short conversations with workers, one for each Management Standards area, for small firms and site managers, and the point that overall responsibility for managing work-related stress rests with the employer
HSE, Suicide preventionWork factors that can play a part, the signs that someone is struggling, and where to point them for help
Working Time Regulations 1998The daily rest of at least 11 consecutive hours in each 24-hour period, or 12 hours for a young worker (regulation 10)

HSE says an employer's first-aid needs assessment should consider support for workers who become ill at work because of a mental health issue, and Health and Welfare Questions covers first aid and welfare on site.

Mental health sample questions with worked explanations

Here are 10 mental health practice questions, each with the answer and a worked explanation.

Sample question 1 · Mental Health & Wellbeing

Under the Management Standard for Relationships, employees should be able to say that they are:

  1. Free to choose which gang or work team they get placed into on site
  2. Able to work on their own without speaking to any other colleagues
  3. Not subjected to unacceptable behaviours such as bullying at workCorrect answer
  4. Personal friends with the other members of their own working gang

Why C: Relationships is about promoting positive working to avoid conflict and dealing with unacceptable behaviour. Bullying at work is a recognised cause of work-related stress.

Sample question 2 · Mental Health & Wellbeing

The pressure you are under is caused by your own line manager. Who else does HSE suggest you could talk to?

  1. Another worker's line manager on a completely different site
  2. A trade union or employee rep, HR, an EAP or your own GPCorrect answer
  3. The client's quantity surveyor or the main contractor's buyer
  4. The security guard on the gate or the person in the canteen

Why B: If the pressure comes from your line manager, check what policies exist. If there are none, HSE suggests your trade union or employee representative, HR, the employee assistance programme or counselling service if there is one, or your GP.

Sample question 3 · Mental Health & Wellbeing

You think a workmate may be suicidal. What does HSE advise?

  1. Tell the rest of the gang so that they can all keep an eye out too
  2. Encourage them to get help from their GP, an EAP or the SamaritansCorrect answer
  3. Say nothing at all, in case raising it puts the idea into their head
  4. Wait for them to raise the subject themselves before doing anything

Why B: HSE says to encourage them to seek help from their GP, the employee assistance programme, the Samaritans, or a trusted friend or family member. Asking does not plant the idea.

Sample question 4 · Mental Health & Wellbeing

Reasonable adjustments are agreed for a worker with a mental health condition. Who pays for them?

  1. The employer, who cannot pass the cost on to the disabled personCorrect answer
  2. The worker, who must fund any change made for their own benefit
  3. The client, who has to add the cost to the main contract price
  4. The insurer, who has to meet the full cost of such adjustments

Why A: Section 20 of the Equality Act 2010 sets out the duty to make reasonable adjustments and states that the person who has that duty cannot require the disabled person to pay any of the cost.

Sample question 5 · Mental Health & Wellbeing

Which of these is a 'state to be achieved' under HSE's Management Standard for Control?

  1. Employees have a say over when breaks can be takenCorrect answer
  2. Employees receive regular and constructive feedback
  3. Employees are aware of timetables for any changes
  4. Employees share information relevant to their work

Why A: HSE lists having a say over when breaks can be taken as a state to be achieved under Control. The other options belong to Support, Change and Relationships.

Sample question 6 · Mental Health & Wellbeing

Why does HSE warn that sickness absence records may not show the true level of work-related stress?

  1. Stress absences must legally be recorded as holiday rather than sickness
  2. Workers off with stress are not allowed to give any reason for being absent
  3. Sickness records can be kept for a maximum of four weeks at one time
  4. People are often reluctant to admit to stress, so it is not recorded as suchCorrect answer

Why D: HSE says stress-related absence is not always reported as such, because people are reluctant to admit to it, especially where jobs may be lost.

Sample question 7 · Mental Health & Wellbeing

A worker takes their own life at the workplace. Is this reportable under RIDDOR?

  1. Yes, any death that happens at a workplace must be reported under RIDDOR
  2. Yes, provided it happens during the worker's normal working hours
  3. No, unless the worker had already told a manager they were stressed
  4. No, RIDDOR only requires deaths from workplace accidents to be reportedCorrect answer

Why D: HSE states that suicides in the workplace are not RIDDOR reportable, because the regulations only require the reporting of deaths from workplace accidents.

Sample question 8 · Mental Health & Wellbeing

The 'Thriving at Work' review set out core standards that HSE says employers of all sizes can and should put in place. Which is one of them?

  1. Screen every new starter for mental illness before they are hired
  2. Ban any discussion of mental health while workers are on the site
  3. Produce, implement and communicate a mental health at work planCorrect answer
  4. Employ a full-time psychiatrist on every site with over 20 workers

Why C: The first Thriving at Work core standard, quoted by HSE, is to produce, implement and communicate a mental health at work plan that promotes good mental health and sets out the support available.

Sample question 9 · Mental Health & Wellbeing

A worker complains that she has been discriminated against because of her disability. Her supervisor then gives her the worst jobs on site because of the complaint. What is this called under the Equality Act 2010?

  1. Reasonable management, as supervisors are free to decide who does which job
  2. Discrimination arising from disability, as the treatment came from her condition
  3. Victimisation, as she suffered a detriment for making an allegation under the ActCorrect answer
  4. Harassment, as it is unwanted conduct of a sexual nature directed towards her

Why C: Section 27 says a person victimises another by subjecting them to a detriment because they did a protected act, which includes making an allegation that someone has breached the Act.

Sample question 10 · Mental Health & Wellbeing

Which of these does HSE list as warning signs that could point to drug or alcohol misuse at work?

  1. Joining a trade union, raising safety concerns and asking lots of questions
  2. Unexplained absences, changes in behaviour and more accidents or near missesCorrect answer
  3. Asking for training, volunteering for overtime and arriving early for work
  4. Wearing PPE correctly, keeping a tidy work area and taking regular breaks

Why B: HSE lists unexplained or frequent absences, a change in behaviour, dips in productivity, more accidents or near misses and conduct issues, and notes these can also be signs of stress or illness.

Which mental health answers catch people out?

The traps are answers that leave a supervisor guessing at the cause, wait before speaking up, and mix the Management Standards up with pay, hours or site facilities.

A supervisor's job is to point the worker to help. HSE says a manager who is worried that a worker is showing signs of stress should encourage them to see their GP, because the same signs can be symptoms of other conditions. If something at work has caused the problem, the manager should act on that too.

Speaking up early helps. HSE says that if you feel signs of stress at work, it is important to talk to someone, for example your manager, as soon as possible, so they have the chance to help and stop the situation getting worse. It adds that stress can happen to anyone.

The six Management Standards are about how work is designed: demands, control, support, relationships, role and change. HSE says these areas, if not properly managed, are linked to poor health, lower productivity and more accidents and sickness absence. Lists built on pay, travel, weather or site facilities are the wrong ones.

Where does mental health sit in the CITB test?

Mental health is part of the core knowledge you practise for the CITB Operatives test. The Specialist tests include the core questions too, so the same knowledge counts there.

Mental health FAQs

What should you do if a workmate shows signs of stress?

Encourage them to talk to someone, such as their line manager, a trade union representative, their GP or the occupational health team. HSE says the earlier a problem is tackled, the less impact it will have.

Are these the real CITB test questions?

No. These are practice questions written for this site, each tied to the law or HSE guidance it tests; CITB does not publish its test questions.