Burnout Test — OLBI (16-Question Oldenburg Inventory)

Burnout Test (OLBI)

Free OLBI burnout screen. 16 questions, 2 minutes. Measures both exhaustion and disengagement. Validated by Demerouti 2003. Anonymous, no email.

Last updated: 5/2/2026 Sources verified: 5/2/2026

This calculator requires JavaScript to compute results. The methodology and formulas are documented below — you can compute manually using the inputs and equations.

How the OLBI is calculated

The OLBI has 16 statements, rated on a 4-point Likert scale from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”. The items split into two subscales of 8 items each:

Disengagement (D1-D8) — how connected you feel to the work itself
Exhaustion (E1-E8) — how drained you feel by it

Half of the items are reverse-coded (positive statements). After reverse-coding, the mean is calculated per subscale on a 1.00-4.00 scale. Higher means worse.

Cut-offs (Innstrand 2008, Norwegian validation): Disengagement mean > 2.10, Exhaustion mean > 2.25. The combination of the two means yields four bands:

Disengagement	Exhaustion	Band
≤ 2.10	≤ 2.25	Healthy work engagement
> 2.10	≤ 2.25	Disengaged but not exhausted
≤ 2.10	> 2.25	Exhausted but still engaged
> 2.10	> 2.25	Full burnout pattern

What your score means

The OLBI’s strength is showing not just whether you’re burned out, but how. Two people can both score in the burnout band but need different interventions.

Disengaged + low exhaustion = misalignment problem, often best resolved by changing what you do
Exhausted + still engaged = overload problem, best resolved by changing how much
Both elevated = both forces at work; partial fixes won’t restore either

When this test is most useful — and when it isn’t

OLBI works best when:

You’ve been wondering whether what you feel “counts” as burnout
You’re considering a job change and want to understand whether the job is the problem or just the volume
You want a baseline to track recovery after a leave or workload change
You’re a manager checking your team’s pulse (with consent) — OLBI is widely used in HR research

It is less useful when:

You’re between jobs — there’s no work context to assess
You haven’t been at the current role at least 3 months — patterns haven’t stabilized
You’re in acute crisis (severe depression, suicidality) — the PHQ-9 + a clinical visit come first

Burnout vs depression — overlap and distinction

Burnout and depression share many features: low energy, low motivation, irritability, sleep problems, low mood. Two clinical patterns separate them:

Burnout is work-driven. Take a real two-week vacation, and burnout often eases noticeably. Depression typically does not — the same fog follows you.
Burnout has a clear stressor. Depression often has no obvious trigger, or is disproportionate to it.
Treatment is different. Burnout responds to environmental change. Depression responds to therapy + medication, regardless of environment.

If you scored OLBI burnout, take the PHQ-9 in parallel. If both light up, the depression treatment plan + environmental change together is the strongest move.

PHQ-9 depression test — burnout often co-occurs with depression
GAD-7 anxiety test — anxiety frequently amplifies burnout
PSS-10 stress test — chronic stress is the soil burnout grows in

Sources verified: 2026-05-02

The Oldenburg Burnout Inventory was developed by Evangelia Demerouti, Arnold Bakker, Ioanna Vardakou, and Aris Kantas at the University of Oldenburg in 2003, as an alternative to the Maslach Burnout Inventory. The English translation was validated by Halbesleben and Demerouti in 2005. The WHO formally recognized burnout (ICD-11 QD85) as an occupational phenomenon in the 2019 revision.

Privacy

Calculation runs entirely in your browser. We never see, log, or store your individual answers. Anonymous, aggregate events (e.g., which band your result fell into) help us improve the tool. This is informational, not medical advice.

Frequently asked questions

Is burnout an actual diagnosis?

It's complicated. The WHO recognizes burnout in ICD-11 (code QD85) as an occupational phenomenon — not a medical condition. So your GP can document it, take it seriously, and recommend interventions, but it's not a diagnosis like depression or anxiety. Often, what gets labeled burnout overlaps with depression — which IS a diagnosis. PHQ-9 in parallel is worth doing.

How is OLBI different from the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)?

MBI is older and more widely used in research, but OLBI has practical advantages: it's free (MBI requires licensing), it has both positive and negative items (less acquiescence bias), and it works across professions, not just helping professions. For self-screening, OLBI is the cleaner choice.

I scored 'disengaged but not exhausted' — is that bad?

It's a specific signal. Pure disengagement without exhaustion often points to a values mismatch — your job clashes with what matters to you — rather than overwork. The fix usually isn't more rest; it's a deliberate change. A career conversation in the next 4 weeks is the right next step.

Can I retake the test next week to see if I'm better?

Burnout patterns shift over months, not weeks. A 1-week retake would mostly capture noise. Retake every 8-12 weeks if you're tracking change after an intervention (workload reduction, leave, role change). Sooner only if your situation changes drastically.

Does my data leave my device?

No. The calculation runs in your browser. We never see your individual answers. Anonymous bucket counts (e.g., 'engaged / disengaged / exhausted / burnout') help us improve the page; no personally identifying information is collected.