Measuring Burnout

Burnout is recognized as a potential problem within a broad range of occupations, and within many different countries. Much has been written about burnout and there is a continuing drive to identify effective solutions. This article reviews the history of the burnout concept, and the debates about how best to define it and thus measure it. The primary burnout measure, which continues to be the most widely used and is considered to be the “gold standard” for work on burnout, is the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and this article describes that measure in some detail. This article also reviews the more recent history about the concept of engagement, the positive opposite of burnout, and the parallel debates about both its definition and assessment.