Today is Time to Talk Day – 6 February 2025

Take part in the nation's biggest mental health conversation. 

Time to Talk Day is a great opportunity to start a conversation about how people are feeling and coping at work. 

There is no shame in talking about mental health 

Anyone can experience mental health problems at some point in life and it’s not uncommon. Work-related stress, depression or anxiety are responsible for around half of all ill-health at work so make it routine to talk about it. 

If you’re not sure what to say, HSE's Talking Toolkit gives example questions to ask and ideas for how you might want to respond. 

Spot the signs early 

Recognising the signs that there may be a problem and responding early can help lessen the impact on individuals, the team and the business. Even if people aren’t talking about what’s going on, signs of possible issues in your team can look like: 

• arguments amongst colleagues 

• more sickness absence 

• decreased performance 

• heightened emotions 

• loss of motivation, commitment or confidence
  
  

How to include stress in your risk assessment 

Mental health should be considered in your risk assessment, just as physical health and safety is.

For ideas of how other businesses have managed risks of work-related stress, see HSE's risk assessment template and examples.