Burnout Self-Assessment
Eight questions across the three burnout dimensions — exhaustion, detachment and reduced effectiveness — to gauge your current stress-load and get a recovery-focused next step.
⚠ This is an educational self-check, not a diagnosis — burnout is an occupational phenomenon (WHO ICD-11), not a clinical disorder. A high score means slow down and consider support, not a label. If you feel persistently low or unsafe, contact a doctor.
1.How often do you feel emotionally drained or depleted by your day?
2.How often do you wake up tired, even after what should be enough sleep?
3.How often can you NOT switch off or recover, even on days off?
4.How often do you feel cynical, detached or numb about things you used to care about?
5.How often do you feel unusually irritable or impatient with people?
6.How often do you feel dread about starting the day or the week?
7.How often do you feel effective and on top of things?
8.How often do you feel a sense of accomplishment or meaning in what you do?
Educational self-check, not a diagnostic instrument or medical advice. Inspired by the Maslach burnout dimensions and the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory. If high stress-load persists, or you feel persistently low, please talk to a doctor or mental-health professional.
Catch the slide early
Burnout creeps up slowly. ONDA Life tracks your HRV, sleep and stress trend over time — an early-warning signal that something’s draining you, long before a questionnaire would catch it.
Download ONDA Life on the App Store →Sources & methodology
Burnout is defined by the WHO (ICD-11, QD85) as an occupational phenomenon from chronic, unmanaged stress — explicitly not a medical condition — with three dimensions: exhaustion, cynicism/detachment and reduced efficacy (Maslach & Leiter 2016). These eight frequency-rated questions are built around those dimensions, in the plain-language spirit of the public-domain Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (Kristensen 2005). It is a self-awareness check, not a diagnostic instrument like the proprietary Maslach Burnout Inventory, and it cannot diagnose anything. The score simply places you on a stress-load spectrum and points to a recovery-focused next step; a high result is a prompt to reduce demand and, if it persists, seek professional support — burnout overlaps with anxiety and depression, which are treatable. Educational only.
- [1] World Health Organization (2019). Burn-out an "occupational phenomenon": International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11, QD85). WHO.
The authoritative definition — burnout as an occupational phenomenon (not a medical condition) with three dimensions.
- [2] Maslach C, Leiter MP (2016). Understanding the burnout experience: recent research and its implications for psychiatry. World Psychiatry, 15(2):103–111.
The three-dimension model (exhaustion, cynicism, reduced efficacy) the questions are built around.
- [3] Kristensen TS, Borritz M, Villadsen E, Christensen KB (2005). The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory: a new tool for the assessment of burnout. Work & Stress, 19(3):192–207.
Public-domain burnout instrument whose frequency-based, plain-language style this self-check follows.
Common questions
What is burnout, exactly?
The WHO (ICD-11) defines burnout as an occupational phenomenon resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed, across three dimensions: exhaustion, increased mental distance or cynicism toward your work, and reduced professional efficacy (Maslach & Leiter 2016). Notably, the WHO classifies it as an occupational phenomenon, not a medical condition.
Is this burnout test a diagnosis?
No. This is an educational self-check inspired by the burnout dimensions and the public-domain Copenhagen Burnout Inventory — not a clinical diagnostic tool, and burnout itself is not a formal medical diagnosis. It can help you notice where you are on the stress-load spectrum, but a high score means "slow down and consider support", not a label.
What should I do if my score is high?
Treat recovery as the priority, not the leftover: reduce demand where you can (not just "cope" harder), protect sleep, add daily nervous-system down-regulation like slow breathing, and reconnect with restorative people and activities. If high stress-load has lasted more than a couple of weeks — or you feel persistently low — talk to a doctor or therapist. Burnout overlaps with depression and anxiety, which are very treatable.
How is burnout linked to the nervous system and HRV?
Chronic stress keeps the sympathetic ("fight-or-flight") branch dominant and blunts parasympathetic recovery, which often shows up as a lower, flatter heart-rate variability over time. That is why nervous-system regulation — slow breathing, sleep, genuine downtime — is central to recovering from burnout, and why tracking your HRV trend can be an early-warning signal.
Can you recover from burnout?
Yes — but rarely by pushing through. Recovery generally requires reducing the chronic demand that caused it (not only adding self-care), restoring sleep and downtime, and rebuilding a sense of control and meaning. Mild, early-stage stress-load can turn around quickly; severe, long-standing burnout usually needs real changes in workload and, often, professional support.