If work has felt heavier than it used to — your energy doesn't replenish on weekends the way it once did, you've been more reactive than you'd like to be, or focus has gotten harder than the work itself warrants — the Work Well-Being Survey is a structured way to put numbers and language to what you've been feeling.
It's not a vibes-check or a personality quiz. The underlying questionnaire was developed by occupational health researchers at a European university and published in a peer-reviewed academic journal, and the scoring is calibrated against cutoff ranges established in that research. When you see your result, it's a measurement — not an interpretation.
The survey covers four dimensions of how a job is affecting you day to day: your energy, your engagement with the work itself, your ability to focus and think clearly, and how easily you're regulating your emotions. Two additional dimensions look at how the strain may be showing up in your body and in your mental life outside of work hours.
Most people finish in about five minutes. You'll get a score on each dimension with plain-language interpretation of what scores in that range typically reflect — something you can actually use, whether that's to make a change, start a conversation with a partner, or bring to a clinician.
<p><strong>What it reflects:</strong> Reduced ability to think clearly and stay focused <br><strong>Symptom component:</strong> Energy</p> <p>This includes difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness, mental fog, and making more mistakes than usual. It is important to note that these are functional impairments, not intelligence problems.</p> <p>Cognitive functioning suffers because sustained effort requires energy—and that energy is depleted.</p>
<p><strong>What it reflects:</strong> Reduced ability to regulate your emotions <br><strong>Symptom component:</strong> Energy</p> <p>This involves feeling emotionally overwhelmed, irritable, numb, or having difficulty managing feelings like sadness or frustration. It is not the same as emotional intelligence.</p> <p>The key idea here is a loss of emotional control, caused by depleted resources, rather than emotional weakness or ignorance.</p>
<p><strong>What it reflects:</strong> Severe, ongoing loss of energy <br><strong>Symptom component:</strong> Energy</p> <p>Exhaustion in burnout goes beyond normal tiredness. It’s a deep mental and physical fatigue that doesn’t fully resolve with rest. People often feel drained before the day even starts and struggle to recover after work.</p> <p>In most research, and according to many burnout experts, exhaustion is a necessary symptom for burnout, but it is not sufficient on its own.</p>
<p><strong>What it reflects:</strong> Psychological withdrawal from work <br><strong>Symptom component:</strong> Motivation</p> <p>Mental distancing includes disengagement, indifference, cynicism, and functioning on autopilot. People may feel disconnected from the meaning or impact of their work.</p> <p>This is typically a protective coping strategy—a way to protect oneself when energy is low. However, when it occurs chronically, performance can suffer, stress & strain can increase, and the act of distancing from work can potentially lead to more burnout.</p>
<p><strong>What it reflects:</strong> High emotional tension and inner unrest <br><strong>Symptom component:</strong> Secondary</p> <p>This includes feelings such as anxiety, agitation, worry, or feeling “on edge.” While not “Core” to defining burnout, these symptoms can often co-occur with burnout symptoms. They reflect general distress, and may impact function and activities outside of the work environment (as well as in it).</p> <p>People often wait to make changes or seek help until they experience these symptoms, but managing burnout early may help to avoid these symptoms altogether.</p>
<p><strong>What it reflects:</strong> Physical symptoms influenced by psychological strain <br><strong>Symptom component:</strong> Secondary</p> <p>Examples include headaches, stomach issues, muscle pain, sleep problems, or dizziness. These symptoms are real and physical, but are believed to be worsened or triggered by prolonged stress.</p> <p>Similar to Psychological Distress, these symptoms are not Core to defining burnout, but can become serious if unmanaged, and impact life outside of the work environment.</p>
Developed by
Wilmar Schaufeli, Hans De Witte & Steffie Desart (2020)
Source
Schaufeli, W.B., De Witte, H. & Desart, S. (2020). Manual Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT) – Version 2.0. KU Leuven, Belgium: Unpublished internal report.Overall Core Model Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = .97 Overall Core Model Root Mean Squared Error of Approximation (RMSEA) = .04 Secondary Symptom 2-Factor Model Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = .95 Secondary Symptom 2-Facrot Model Root Mean Squared Error of Approximation (RMSEA) = .06 Latent Class Analysis (BIC) = 15645.25 Latent Class Analysis (AIC) = 15326.91 Latent Class Analysis (SABIC) = 15476.85 Latent Class Analysis (classification error) = .07 Internal Consistency (Cronbach's alpha) - Exhaustion = .92 Internal Consistency (Cronbach's alpha) - Mental Distance = .91 Internal Consistency (Cronbach's alpha) - Emotional Impairment = .90 Internal Consistency (Cronbach's alpha) - Cognitive Impairment = .92 Internal Consistency (Cronbach's alpha) - Total Core Symptoms = .96 Internal Consistency (Cronbach's alpha) - Total Secondary Symptoms = .89 Test-Retest Reliability (Stability Coefficient r); Exhaustion T1-T2 = .71 Test-Retest Reliability (Stability Coefficient r); Exhaustion T2-T3 = .75 Test-Retest Reliability (Stability Coefficient r); Exhaustion T1-T3 = .69 Test-Retest Reliability (Stability Coefficient r); Mental Distance T1-T2 = .68 Test-Retest Reliability (Stability Coefficient r); Mental Distance T2-T3 = .64 Test-Retest Reliability (Stability Coefficient r); Mental Distance T1-T3 = .60 Test-Retest Reliability (Stability Coefficient r); Emotional Impairment T1-T2 = .67 Test-Retest Reliability (Stability Coefficient r); Emotional Impairment T2-T3 = .64 Test-Retest Reliability (Stability Coefficient r); Emotional Impairment T1-T3 = .60 Test-Retest Reliability (Stability Coefficient r); Cognitive Impairment T1-T2 = .62 Test-Retest Reliability (Stability Coefficient r); Cognitive Impairment T2-T3 = .66 Test-Retest Reliability (Stability Coefficient r); Cognitive Impairment T1-T3 = .54 Test-Retest Reliability (Stability Coefficient r); Total Core Symptoms T1-T2 = .74 Test-Retest Reliability (Stability Coefficient r); Total Core Symptoms T2-T3 = .73 Test-Retest Reliability (Stability Coefficient r); Total Core Symptoms T1-T3 = .68 Test-Retest Reliability (Stability Coefficient r); Total Secondary Symptoms T1-T2 = .80 Test-Retest Reliability (Stability Coefficient r); Total Secondary Symptoms T2-T3 = .82 Test-Retest Reliability (Stability Coefficient r); Total Secondary Symptoms T1-T3 = .80 Inter-Rater Reliability - Exhaustion = .63 Inter-Rater Reliability - Mental Distance = .69 Inter-Rater Reliability - Emotional Impairment = .60 Inter-Rater Reliability - Cognitive Impairment = .12 Inter-Rater Reliability - Total Core Symptoms = .63 Inter-Rater Reliability - Total Secondary Symptoms = .70
Four dimensions of your day-to-day experience at work: your energy level, your engagement with the work itself, your ability to focus and think clearly, and how easily you're regulating your emotions. You get a score on each, with plain-language interpretation of where you fall.
About five minutes. It uses a validated short-form questionnaire with a small number of straightforward items.
Yes. The Work Well-Being Survey is free to take on Know Thy Survey. No account is required.
Yes. The underlying questionnaire was developed by occupational health researchers at a European university and published in a peer-reviewed academic journal. It has been validated across multiple studies and populations, with strong internal consistency and good test-retest reliability across the dimensions it measures.
A score on each of the four dimensions, with plain-language interpretation of what your scores typically indicate. The interpretations reference cutoff ranges established in published research, so you can see where your scores fall relative to those of working adults at various stress levels.
No. The Work Well-Being Survey is a self-report screening tool that gives you information about how you're doing across four dimensions of your work experience — it is not a medical or psychological diagnosis. If your scores raise questions or concerns, those are worth discussing with a qualified clinician.
Yes. The Work Well-Being Survey on Know Thy Survey is anonymous unless you choose to create an account, and your individual responses are not shared with employers, insurers, or anyone else.
Results from this assessment are not a clinical diagnosis. They are intended to provide language and context for your experience and to support conversations with a qualified health care provider.