Kristensen, T. S., Borritz, M., Villadsen, E., & Christensen, K. B. (2005). The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory: A new tool for the assessment of burnout. Work & Stress, 19(3), 192–207. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678370500297720
Number of items
19
Response format
5-point frequency or intensity scales (e.g., Always to Never/almost never; To a very high degree to To a very low degree), typically rescored 0–100
Dimensions & subscales
Personal burnout (6 items) — general fatigue and exhaustion
Work-related burnout (7 items) — fatigue attributed to work
Client-related burnout (6 items) — fatigue attributed to work with clients/patients/students
Reliability (commonly reported)
Subscale alphas are commonly reported around .85–.87 in the original PUMA study and similar values in later studies.
Validity evidence
Developed in the Danish PUMA study of human-service workers; the three subscales show good internal structure, predicted sickness absence, sleep problems and intention to quit, and correlate as expected with job factors. Widely validated internationally.
Populations & contexts
Human-service workers originally; the personal and work subscales apply to any occupation, and the client subscale wherever there is recipient contact.
Origin, translations & adaptations
Denmark. Translated into many languages (including widely used English, Chinese, Portuguese and Malay versions) with published validations.
Licensing & permission
Free for academic research (cite the source) The authors placed the CBI in the public domain for research use; the items are printed in the original article. Cite the source; contact the authors for commercial applications.
How to cite (APA 7)
Kristensen, T. S., Borritz, M., Villadsen, E., & Christensen, K. B. (2005). The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory: A new tool for the assessment of burnout. Work & Stress, 19(3), 192–207. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678370500297720
Short versions & notable variants
Researchers often administer only the personal and work-related subscales (13 items) in non-client occupations