Burnout is not the same as being tired. Everyone gets tired. Burnout is something specific — a work-related pattern defined by three dimensions that emerge from chronic, unmanaged workplace stress: emotional exhaustion (your energy reserves are genuinely depleted), cynicism (you've developed emotional distance from your work and the people in it), and reduced efficacy (your sense of competence and effectiveness has eroded). All three together constitute burnout. One alone is a warning sign.
The World Health Organization describes burn-out as an occupational phenomenon rather than a medical condition. This page uses original reflection questions and is not the Maslach Burnout Inventory or another standardized instrument.
This quiz focuses on experiences you can notice directly: energy, distance from work, and confidence in completing everyday tasks. It does not calculate a clinical or standardized burnout score.
Exhaustion
The depletion of emotional and physical energy — the core experience of burnout.
Cynicism
Emotional detachment, depersonalization, and growing indifference to work and people.
Reduced Efficacy
A collapsing sense of competence, effectiveness, and professional accomplishment.
How to Answer
This assessment uses a frequency scale rather than an agreement scale — this is intentional and reflects the quiz format. For each statement, choose how often you experience it:
Answer based on your experience over the last few weeks — how you've actually been, not how you'd like to be or how you were before things got difficult.