Burnout Test

Fifteen questions about how work has actually felt lately — not how you think it should feel. You get a total score plus a breakdown across the three faces of burnout: exhaustion, detachment, and reduced efficacy.

Thinking about your work over the last few weeks, how often has each statement felt true? (If you are a full-time caregiver or student, read “work” as that main role.)

1. I feel used up at the end of the workday.
2. I have become less enthusiastic about my work than I used to be.
3. I feel confident that I am effective at getting things done at work.
4. I feel emotionally drained by my work.
5. I have become more cynical about whether my work contributes anything.
6. I can effectively solve the problems that arise in my work.
7. I wake up feeling already tired at the thought of another workday.
8. I feel detached from the people I work with or serve.
9. I feel I am making an effective contribution to my organization or the people I serve.
10. Working all day is a real strain for me.
11. I doubt the significance of my work.
12. I feel energetic and engaged when I am working.
13. I feel burned out from my work.
14. I have become less interested in my work since I started this job.
15. I feel accomplished when I finish tasks at work.

Your answers never leave this browser — scoring happens on your device.

What is burnout, exactly?

The World Health Organization (ICD-11) describes burnout as an occupational phenomenon resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It has three dimensions: feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from, or cynicism about, one's job; and reduced professional efficacy. It is specifically about work — the same exhaustion showing up in caregiving, studying, or parenting deserves the same seriousness, which is why this test lets you read “work” as your main role.

This self-check is an original questionnaire written for this site, informed by the burnout research literature. It is deliberately not the Maslach Burnout Inventory, which is a licensed clinical instrument. Your facet scores matter more than the total: a high exhaustion score points at workload and recovery, high detachment at meaning and connection, and reduced efficacy at feedback, autonomy, and fit.

This burnout test is a self-reflection tool, not a medical or occupational diagnosis. Burnout overlaps with depression and other conditions — if exhaustion comes with persistent low mood or loss of interest everywhere (not just at work), the PHQ-9 self-check and a conversation with a professional are better next steps.

Frequently asked questions

How is burnout different from stress?

Stress is usually about too much — too many demands, too much pressure — and tends to ease when the pressure does. Burnout is what prolonged stress can turn into: exhaustion plus cynicism plus a sense that your effort no longer works. People describe stress as drowning in responsibilities and burnout as feeling dried up.

Can a test really tell me if I'm burned out?

No test can, including this one — burnout is not a formal medical diagnosis. What a structured self-check can do is make a vague feeling concrete: which facet is loudest, and whether it is getting better or worse when you re-check in a month. That makes conversations with a manager, doctor, or therapist much more productive.

What should I do with a high score?

Treat it as a workload and health problem, not a motivation problem. The evidence-backed levers are reducing demands, restoring recovery (sleep, real days off), and increasing control over how you work. If your score is high and stays high, talk with a doctor or mental health professional — and check the PHQ-9 too, because burnout and depression frequently overlap.

Are my answers private?

Yes. Scoring happens in your browser, your history is stored only in this browser's local storage, and nothing is uploaded to a server. Delete it any time from My Results.

Keep going

Attachment Style TestSee whether you lean secure, anxious, avoidant — or a mix — in close relationships.Stress Test (PSS-10)The Perceived Stress Scale: how overwhelmed the last month has felt.PHQ-9 CalculatorThe standard 9-question depression screening scale, scored instantly.

Your results from every tool are saved only in this browser — see them together on My Results.