CBI · Personal burnout (CBI)
Am I burnt out? Free burnout self-test (CBI)
Burnout Self-Test
The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory - a free burnout self-test.
Reviewed by Komel Kaur, Psychotherapist
Last reviewed 9 July 2026
6
Questions
~2
Minutes
Free
Always
What the CBI measures
The CBI Personal Burnout subscale measures how physically and psychologically exhausted you feel, independent of the cause. Its 6 items ask how often you feel tired, physically exhausted, emotionally exhausted, worn out, weak, and thinking 'I can't take it anymore'.
Each item is scored 0-4 (rescaled from the original 0-100 scoring), giving a subscale total from 0 to 24. Higher scores indicate greater personal burnout - the most universal component of burnout across occupations and life circumstances.
The full CBI has three subscales (personal, work-related, and client-related burnout). Personal burnout is the broadest and most universal, capturing exhaustion regardless of whether it stems from work, caregiving, or life circumstances.
Where the CBI came from
The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory was developed in 1997-2005 by Tage Kristensen and colleagues at the Danish National Institute of Occupational Health, as an alternative to the widely-used but restrictively-licensed Maslach Burnout Inventory. It was validated in the large PUMA study (Project on Burnout, Motivation and Job Satisfaction) tracking nearly 2,000 human-service workers over five years, and published in Work & Stress in 2005. Unlike the MBI, the CBI is in the public domain and free to use, which has driven its adoption in international burnout research.
How the CBI is scored
This site uses the 0-4 per-item scoring (giving a subscale total of 0-24). The bands below reflect standard interpretation thresholds.
| Score | Severity | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | Low burnout | Energy reserves are within a healthy range. |
| 10-14 | Moderate burnout | Meaningful exhaustion present. Worth reviewing recovery, boundaries, and load. |
| 15-19 | High burnout | Significant burnout. Structural changes and support usually needed - pushing through often worsens it. |
| 20-24 | Severe burnout | Severe exhaustion often overlapping with depression. Professional support typically recommended. |
How the CBI is used in clinical practice
The CBI is used in occupational health and organisational psychology to measure burnout at individual and population levels and to evaluate the impact of workplace interventions.
In therapy, the Personal Burnout subscale is used at intake and to track recovery. Because it does not assume the cause is work, it also captures burnout from caregiving, parenting, chronic illness, or protracted life stress.
It is often used alongside depression measures because severe burnout and depression overlap substantially and require different but sometimes complementary approaches.
Limitations to keep in mind
- ·Burnout is not a formal psychiatric diagnosis in the DSM. In ICD-11 it is classified as an occupational phenomenon, not a medical condition. High CBI scores signal a state, not a diagnosis.
- ·The distinction between severe burnout and depression is not always clean. A clinician can help determine which is dominant and whether medical evaluation is needed.
- ·The Personal Burnout subscale does not identify the source. Follow-up conversation is needed to work out whether work, caregiving, or something else is driving it.
- ·It is a self-report measure and sensitive to how you are feeling in the past two weeks - a single administration is a snapshot, not a trend.
Before you start
- · Find a quiet few minutes - answer honestly, not how you wish you felt.
- · There are no right or wrong answers. Pick what feels closest.
- · This is a screening tool, not a diagnosis.
- · If anything brings up something heavy, support is at the end.
Common questions about the CBI
What is the CBI?
The CBI is the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, a public-domain burnout measure developed as an alternative to the Maslach Burnout Inventory. It has three subscales: personal, work-related, and client-related burnout.
What does personal burnout mean?
Personal burnout is the degree of physical and psychological exhaustion you experience, independent of its cause. It is the most universal burnout dimension and applies across work, caregiving, and life stress.
Is burnout the same as depression?
No, but they overlap substantially. Burnout is centred on exhaustion tied to prolonged demand; depression is broader and includes low mood, anhedonia, and cognitive symptoms. Severe burnout can develop into or coexist with depression.
Is burnout a formal medical diagnosis?
Not in the DSM-5. In ICD-11 it is classified as an occupational phenomenon, not a disease. It is nevertheless clinically important and a common reason people seek therapy.
How is burnout treated?
Treatment typically combines rest and recovery, changes to the demands driving the exhaustion (workload, boundaries, structural change), and therapy focused on the patterns that maintain over-functioning. Medical review is worthwhile when exhaustion is severe or sleep and mood are affected.
Is the CBI free to use?
Yes. The CBI is in the public domain and free for research, clinical, and personal use.
Reviewed by Komel Kaur, Psychotherapist
Last reviewed 9 July 2026
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.