Tools Burnout Test

Free tool · Burnout Test

Am I burned out?

Burnout is the deep, lasting exhaustion that builds when stress keeps outrunning recovery. This test uses the 13 questions of the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, a free questionnaire researchers use around the world, to score how worn out you are in life overall and at work, from 0 to 100.

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This is a screening questionnaire, not a diagnosis. If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 (the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, U.S.) right now.

Step 1 · How you feel in general

Think about how you have felt over recent weeks. There are no right or wrong answers.

1. How often do you feel tired?
2. How often are you physically exhausted?
3. How often are you emotionally exhausted?
4. How often do you think: “I can’t take it anymore”?
5. How often do you feel worn out?
6. How often do you feel weak and susceptible to illness?
Do you have a paid job right now?
Step 2 · How you feel about your work

Paid work, self-employment and your main job if you have more than one all count.

1. Is your work emotionally exhausting?
2. Do you feel burnt out because of your work?
3. Does your work frustrate you?
4. Do you feel worn out at the end of the working day?
5. Are you exhausted in the morning at the thought of another day at work?
6. Do you feel that every working hour is tiring for you?
7. Do you have enough energy for family and friends during leisure time?

Private by design: everything is scored in your browser. Nothing you choose is saved or sent.

Beyond burnout

Burnout is one signal. Your Mental Wealth score shows the whole picture.

The free Mental assessment takes about two minutes and scores your mindset and resilience, learning, stress management and sense of purpose from 0 to 100, with next steps for the areas that matter most. It is one of eight dimensions in your Wealth Score, alongside your finances, health, relationships and free time. No sign-up needed.

  • Financial
  • Retirement
  • Security
  • Medical
  • Physical
  • Mental
  • Social
  • Time
Take the Mental Assessment

Want to understand it first? Read what mental wealth means, or see all eight dimensions.

How this test works

The questions come from the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI), developed by Tage Kristensen and colleagues at Denmark’s National Research Centre for the Working Environment and published in 2005. Unlike the better-known Maslach Burnout Inventory, it is free for anyone to use. Its core idea is simple: burnout is fatigue and exhaustion, and the question is what you put it down to.

  • Personal burnout (6 questions) asks how physically and emotionally exhausted you are in general, whatever the cause. Anyone can answer it.
  • Work-related burnout (7 questions) asks how much of that exhaustion you link to your work. Skip it if you don’t have a job.

Each answer scores 100 (Always, or To a very high degree), 75, 50, 25 or 0 (Never/almost never, or To a very low degree). The last work question, about having energy for family and friends, is reverse-scored, because having energy means less burnout. A scale’s score is the average of its answers.

Scale score = average of its answers (0 to 100)

The inventory’s authors did not publish official cut-offs. This test uses the bands many studies apply: under 50 low, 50 to 74 moderate, 75 to 99 high and 100 severe. Your headline result is the higher of your two scales. The inventory also has a third scale, about working with clients or patients, which this test leaves out because it only applies to people-facing jobs.

For what burnout is, how it differs from depression and how people recover, read Recognising and Recovering From Burnout.

Words you’ll see

Burnout
Long-lasting physical and emotional exhaustion. The WHO describes burn-out as the result of chronic workplace stress that hasn’t been successfully managed.
Personal burnout
How physically and psychologically exhausted you feel overall, whether the cause is work, caregiving, health or something else.
Work-related burnout
The share of that exhaustion you put down to your work.
Reverse-scored question
A question where the most frequent answer means the least burnout, so its points are flipped (100 becomes 0) before averaging.
Occupational phenomenon
The WHO’s term for burn-out in the ICD-11: a reason people seek care that is tied to work, not a medical condition in itself.

Common questions

How do I know if I’m burned out?

The core sign of burnout is exhaustion that doesn’t lift with a normal night’s sleep or a weekend off, often with growing cynicism about work and a sense that you can’t keep up. A questionnaire such as the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory turns those feelings into a score, and a score of 50 or more on a scale is usually read as at least moderate burnout. Only a doctor or mental health professional can rule out other causes, such as depression or a medical condition.

What is a good score on the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory?

Lower is better: each scale runs from 0 (no burnout) to 100. Many studies read a score under 50 as low burnout, 50 to 74 as moderate, 75 to 99 as high and 100 as severe. The inventory’s authors did not set official cut-offs, so treat the bands as a guide rather than a verdict.

Is burnout a medical diagnosis?

No. The World Health Organization lists burn-out in the ICD-11 (code QD85) as an occupational phenomenon, not a medical condition. It defines it as the result of chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed, marked by exhaustion, mental distance or cynicism about your job, and reduced effectiveness at work.

Can you be burned out without a job?

The WHO uses the word burn-out only for work, but the exhaustion behind it can come from caregiving, study or a long illness too. That is why the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory has a personal burnout scale that anyone can answer, whether or not they work. If you don’t have a paid job, this test scores that scale alone.

Sources

  1. The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory: A new tool for the assessment of burnout, Kristensen, Borritz, Villadsen and Christensen, Work & Stress, 2005
  2. Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (English version) used in the PUMA study, National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Denmark
  3. Prevalence of burnout, depression, anxiety and stress in Australian midwives: a cross-sectional survey, Creedy, Sidebotham, Gamble, Pallant and Fenwick, BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 2017
  4. Burn-out an “occupational phenomenon”: International Classification of Diseases, World Health Organization

This tool is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not medical or mental health advice, and it does not diagnose any condition. If you are worried about how you feel, talk to a doctor or a licensed mental health professional.