The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory
The three CBI scales, scoring thresholds, and benchmark data before you roll out an assessment.
Burnout assessment tools, compared
Burnout questionnaires have multiplied over the past two decades. Some are proprietary and need licensed practitioners. Others are open and suit education and early screening. Here are the ones we are asked about most.
The four you will meet most often
| Tool | Measures | Access | When to use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| CBI Copenhagen Burnout Inventory | Personal, work, and client-related exhaustion | Open licence (NFA Denmark) | Organisations and self-guided screening where transparency and cost matter. |
| MBI Maslach Burnout Inventory | Emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, reduced accomplishment | Paid licence via Mind Garden | Research and clinical settings. Needs trained administrators and licensing fees. |
| BAT Burnout Assessment Tool | Exhaustion, mental distance, cognitive and emotional impairment | Controlled licence (KU Leuven) | Newer instrument aligned with the ICD-11 definition. Best with practitioner support. |
| OLBI Oldenburg Burnout Inventory | Exhaustion and disengagement | Open, permission needed for translations | Longitudinal research where fewer items help. Less granular guidance for individuals. |
Why our test relies on the CBI
We prioritised three things when choosing an assessment for an anonymous self-test: validity, openness, and actionable scoring. The CBI met all three. It has strong psychometrics, can be used without buying licences, and separates personal, work, and client burnout so you can target the right intervention.
The MBI and BAT are excellent when you work with occupational health professionals, but licensing makes them hard to offer freely. The OLBI is succinct, yet leaves out the client-specific lens that many healthcare and service teams ask for.
Choosing an instrument
Four questions to settle before you pick one.
-
1. Define your goal
Awareness, triage, research, or clinical diagnosis? Each points to a different tool.
-
2. Know your audience
Do they interact with clients or patients? Do they need multi-language support?
-
3. Map governance
Who will interpret results and hold the follow-up conversations?
-
4. Review licensing
Confirm you can use and store the data under the tool’s terms.
If you need help rolling out the CBI at team level, get in touch. We can share templates for pulse surveys and longitudinal follow-up.
Try the CBI-based test
The full Copenhagen Burnout Inventory with instant scoring across personal, work, and client dimensions.
Keep reading
What is burnout?
The signs of burnout, how it differs from depression, and how managers can respond early.
Articles
Practical breakdowns of compassion fatigue, recovery habits, and manager playbooks.
Who writes and checks this
Guidance here is drawn from peer-reviewed research on stress and recovery. We name the studies we rely on and invite independent clinicians to review updates.
Last reviewed
- About Burnout Editorial Team Writers & researchers focused on occupational wellbeing
- Cross-disciplinary team that translates peer-reviewed burnout research into accessible guidance for individuals and organisations. Includes experience in organisational psychology, employee wellbeing programmes, evidence synthesis, and workload design.
- About Burnout Research & Insights Data and literature review contributors
- Responsible for maintaining the burnout assessment, reviewing validation studies, and curating emerging evidence on job demands and recovery. Monitors Copenhagen Burnout Inventory research, stress and resilience studies, and job demands-resources frameworks.
- Clinical review External clinical reviewers (in progress)
- We are actively recruiting licensed clinicians with stress and occupational health expertise to review new content. Reach out via editor@about-burnout.com if you are interested in contributing.
Studies referenced
- 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. View study
- Milfont TL, Denny S, Ameratunga S, Robinson E (2008). Burnout and wellbeing among New Zealand secondary school teachers. Work, 30(4), 357–367.
- Schaufeli WB, Bakker AB (2004). Job demands, job resources, and their relationship with burnout and engagement. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25(3), 293–315.