What this burnout test measures
This test uses the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI). At its core, the CBI treats burnout as a state of prolonged physical and psychological exhaustion [3]. It splits that exhaustion into three scales [3]:
| Scale | What it asks about | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Personal burnout | Tiredness and exhaustion in general | 6 |
| Work burnout | Exhaustion you link to your work | 7 |
| Client burnout | Exhaustion you link to working with clients | 6 |
"Clients" can mean patients, students, children or other people you work with [3]. Each scale gets its own score, so you can see whether you are worn out in general, worn down by the job, or drained by the people side of the work.
Who developed it
The CBI was developed at Denmark's National Institute of Occupational Health [3] and published in 2005 [2]. It was used in the PUMA study of 1,917 people working in human service jobs, such as social work, hospitals, prisons and home help [3]. It may be used freely, as long as the source is cited [4].
Is burnout a medical condition?
No. The World Health Organization describes burn-out in ICD-11 as an occupational phenomenon, and says it is not classified as a medical condition [1]. The WHO definition is a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed [1]. It has three parts [1]:
- feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion
- increased mental distance from your job, or negative or cynical feelings about it
- reduced professional efficacy
The WHO says the term refers specifically to work, and should not be used for other areas of life [1]. The CBI's three scales all measure exhaustion [3], so it focuses on the first of these parts.
How the burnout test is scored
Every answer becomes a number from 0 to 100 [3]:
| Answer | Points |
|---|---|
| Always / To a very high degree | 100 |
| Often / To a high degree | 75 |
| Sometimes / Somewhat | 50 |
| Seldom / To a low degree | 25 |
| Never or almost never / To a very low degree | 0 |
Each scale's score is the average of its answers, so it also runs from 0 to 100 [3]. One work question asks whether you have enough energy for family and friends in your free time. That one is scored the other way round [3].
What the numbers mean
The CBI has no clinical cut-off. Its authors give reference points instead [3]:
- 50 or more. In the PUMA study, the authors counted 50 points or more as a high degree of burnout. On that measure, 22.2% had high personal burnout, 19.8% high work burnout and 15.9% high client burnout.
- Average scores. In a representative sample of 1,498 Danish adults aged 20 to 59, the average personal burnout score was 32.7. In the PUMA workers, the averages were 35.9 for personal, 33.0 for work and 30.9 for client burnout.
These figures come from Danish adults and workers [3], so people in other jobs and countries may score differently.
What your result can and cannot tell you
Your scores show how often and how strongly you feel exhausted, and where that exhaustion seems to come from. They cannot tell you what is causing it.
There is no agreed diagnosis of burnout to test the scores against, so there are no accuracy figures. What the authors could check was whether the questions hang together. Internal reliability was 0.87 for personal, 0.87 for work and 0.85 for client burnout in the PUMA study, and 0.80 for personal burnout in the population sample [3].
Burnout and depression also overlap. One study of 3,113 employed people found that the parts of burnout were more closely linked with depression than with each other [5]. If your scores are high, the depression test on this site is worth taking too.
What to do next in the UK
- Talk to someone at work. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says it is important to talk to someone, for example your manager [7]. If the pressure comes from your manager, it suggests HR, a trade union or employee representative, an employee assistance programme, or your GP [7].
- Know your employer's duty. HSE says employers have a legal duty to protect workers from stress at work by doing a risk assessment and acting on it [6].
- See your GP if you are struggling to cope with stress, or the things you are trying are not helping [8].
- In England, you can refer yourself to NHS talking therapies without seeing a GP if you are 18 or over (16 or over in some areas) [8] and live in England [9].
If you need help now
- If your life or someone else's is at risk, or you cannot keep yourself safe, call 999 or go to A&E [11].
- England: call 111 and select the mental health option [11].
- Scotland: phone NHS 24 on 111 and choose the mental health option [12].
- Wales: call 111 and press option 2. It is free and open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for all ages [13].
- Northern Ireland: call Lifeline on 0808 808 8000. It is free and open 24 hours every day [14].
- Anywhere in the UK: call Samaritans free on 116 123, day or night [15], or text the word SHOUT to 85258 for free text support at any time [16].