Burnout test: how close are you to burning out in 2026?

Safety note: This burnout self-assessment is not a medical or psychological diagnosis. It is a screening tool designed to help you reflect on how you are feeling. If you are experiencing persistent exhaustion, emotional distress, or thoughts of self-harm, please reach out to a healthcare professional. No app or online quiz can replace the guidance of a trained clinician.

The burnout self-assessment

Read each statement and choose the answer that best describes how you’ve felt over the past two weeks. Be honest — this is for you, not for anyone else.

Score each answer:

• Never = 1
• Rarely = 2
• Sometimes = 3
• Often = 4
• Always = 5

Part 1: Exhaustion

1. I feel physically drained by the end of my workday.
2. I wake up tired even after a full night of sleep.
3. I feel like I have no energy left for anything outside of work.
4. Small tasks that used to be easy now feel overwhelming.
5. I get sick more often than I used to — headaches, stomach and digestive issues, muscle tension.

Part 2: Disconnect

6. I’ve stopped caring about the quality of my work.
7. I feel emotionally distant from my coworkers or clients.
8. I catch myself going through the motions without really being present.
9. I’ve become more irritable or impatient with people at work.
10. I avoid conversations or situations at work that I used to handle fine.

Part 3: Reduced efficacy

11. I doubt whether my work makes any real difference.
12. I struggle to concentrate or make decisions that used to come naturally.
13. I feel less competent at my job than I did six months ago.
14. I’ve lost confidence in my ability to handle my responsibilities.
15. I can’t remember the last time I felt genuinely proud of something I accomplished at work.

Understanding your results

Your total score can range from 15 to 75. The table below can help you understand what your current score may suggest about your level of burnout risk, what patterns are commonly associated with that range, and what signs or changes may be worth paying attention to next.

Dimension scores

The questions are divided into different parts, each with a score range between 5 and 25. Looking at which part scored the highest can help you better understand how burnout may currently be affecting you.

Burnout is not always just physical exhaustion. For some people, it can look more like emotional disconnect, lower motivation, or feeling less effective over time.

A higher disconnect score may suggest you’re starting to emotionally pull away from work or daily responsibilities. A higher reduced efficacy score may suggest that even if you still have energy, it feels harder to stay motivated or confident in what you’re doing.

These patterns can look very different from person to person, which is why understanding the type of burnout matters too.

Burnout measurement in clinical settings

The self-assessment above gives you a useful snapshot, but it’s worth knowing how burnout is measured in research and clinical practice.

Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)

The Maslach Burnout Inventory is the most widely used burnout assessment in the world. Developed by Christina Maslach and Susan Jackson in 1981, it has been used in thousands of studies. It measures the same three dimensions — emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment — across 22 items rated on a 0-6 frequency scale. It’s considered the gold standard, but it’s not free. Researchers and organizations purchase access through Mind Garden.

Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI)

The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory was developed by Kristensen and colleagues in 2005 as a free, public-domain alternative. It uses 19 items across three scales: personal burnout, work-related burnout, and client-related burnout. Because it’s freely available, it’s widely used in workplace wellness programs and research outside of the U.S. You can take the CBI for free online.

Single-item measures

Some research has shown that a single question — something like “On a scale of 1 to 5, how burned out do you feel?” — can correlate surprisingly well with full MBI scores. Single-item measures don’t replace a full assessment, but they can be useful for quick check-ins over time.

The limitation of any one-time test

All of these tools share the same limitation: they measure how you feel at one point in time. Burnout develops gradually. A test you take on a good day may miss patterns that are obvious over weeks. That’s why ongoing tracking — whether through a journal, regular check-ins with a clinician, or an app that monitors your patterns passively — adds a dimension that no single quiz can.

Next steps based on your results

Whatever your score, here are concrete steps you can take right now.

1. Write down your scores. Total and for every part. You’ll want to compare them in a few weeks to see if things are shifting.
2. Identify your highest dimension. That’s where your attention should go first. Exhaustion, disconnect, and reduced efficacy need different responses.
3. Talk to someone. If your score is in the high or severe range, bring your results to your doctor. Having specific numbers makes the conversation easier than saying “I think I might be burned out.” Notes for your doctor can help you prepare for that conversation.
4. Track your patterns. A quiz tells you where you are today. Tracking tells you whether it’s getting better or worse. Anticipate App monitors your mood, sleep, and daily behavior passively — so you don’t have to remember to check in when you’re already running on empty.
5. Retake this test in 2-4 weeks. Burnout moves slowly. Checking in regularly helps you spot whether the changes you’re making are working.