Burnout isn't binary. It's a curve, and most people who eventually crash spent months on the slope first, telling themselves they were just tired. This free burnout risk quiz uses five questions adapted from the WHO's three-dimension model of burnout (exhaustion, cynicism, reduced efficacy) to place you on one of four stages — from Sustainable at one end through Strained, Eroding, to At-Risk — with a specific honest next action for each stage.
This is not a clinical assessment. The Maslach Burnout Inventory and Oldenburg Burnout Inventory are validated instruments and require trained interpretation. This is a behavioural self-check to help you see where you are right now — useful precisely because it's short and easy to take honestly when a full assessment feels like too much effort.
The four stages and what they typically look like: Sustainable = tired sometimes but recovers in a day or two, still cares about the work, still enjoys most weeks. Strained = chronically tired but functional, weekends help, still capable but starting to coast on important things. Eroding = sleep doesn't restore, cynicism creeping in, calling in sick more often, snapping at people you love. At-Risk = full-blown burnout territory — exhaustion that sleep doesn't touch, dread of work, loss of meaning, physical symptoms. If you're At-Risk, the action is not 'work less' — it's 'talk to a doctor and/or therapist this week'.
The recommendations get more conservative as the stage worsens. Sustainable people get tactical suggestions. Strained people get structural ones. Eroding and At-Risk people get one recommendation: stop reading productivity blogs, get human help. We mean it — burnout that compounds for months tends to cost years of recovery. Catching it at Strained is much easier than catching it at At-Risk.
Share your result with a manager, partner, or therapist if useful. Most burnout patterns are pattern-blind to the person inside them. Outside eyes help.