Burnout is a state of long-lasting physical and emotional exhaustion. The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) measures personal burnout (6 questions, for everyone) and work-related burnout (7 questions, if you work). Each part is scored from 0 to 100.
- One question per screen. Tap an answer to move on (or use the number keys on a keyboard).
- Your score, what it means, and the next step, straight away.
- Your answers stay on your device. Nothing is saved or sent.
This is a screening tool, not a diagnosis. If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call your local emergency number now. Helplines are listed below the test.
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How this test is scored
Answers are scored Always / To a very high degree = 100, Often / To a high degree = 75, Sometimes / Somewhat = 50, Seldom / To a low degree = 25, Never / To a very low degree = 0 (the last work question, about energy for family and friends, is reversed). Each part is the average of its questions, from 0 to 100. The developers define a high degree of burnout as 50 or more. The question about whether you work is not scored; it only decides whether the work questions are shown.
About the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory
The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) was developed in Denmark by Tage Kristensen and colleagues as an alternative to older burnout questionnaires. The full inventory has three scales: personal, work-related and client-related burnout. This test uses the personal and work-related scales. The developers tested it in the PUMA study of 1,914 human-service employees, where all three scales showed very high internal reliability and predicted later sickness absence, sleep problems, painkiller use and intention to quit (Kristensen et al., 2005).
How to read your result
Each score runs from 0 to 100. Higher numbers mean more exhaustion. Personal burnout looks at your overall tiredness, and work-related burnout looks at how much of it you link to your job. A high work score with a lower personal score often points to the job itself. When both are high, the exhaustion may be spreading into the rest of your life.
The World Health Organization describes burn-out as an occupational phenomenon resulting from chronic workplace stress, not as a medical condition (WHO). This is a screening tool, not a diagnosis. Burnout and depression can look alike, so it is worth also taking the PHQ-9.
When to talk to a professional
Talk to a psychologist or doctor if your exhaustion has lasted for months, if rest no longer helps, or if low mood is creeping in. To tell exhaustion apart from "laziness", read emotional exhaustion vs. laziness.
Source
Kristensen TS, Borritz M, Villadsen E, Christensen KB. The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory: a new tool for the assessment of burnout. Work & Stress. 2005;19(3):192-207. Borritz M, Rugulies R, Bjorner JB, Villadsen E, Mikkelsen OA, Kristensen TS. Burnout among employees in human service work: design and baseline findings of the PUMA study. Scand J Public Health. 2006;34(1):49-58. Free for non-commercial and commercial use with citation (National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Denmark). High burnout defined as 50 points or more, and population averages (personal burnout 35.9, work burnout 33.0), from the developers' PUMA results.
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