Psychological self-test for work pressure

Test how you deal with stress and the degree to which you’re in danger of burnout.


For many disorders affecting your wellbeing, taking a critical look at your own mental state can put you on course towards feeling better. This test helps you determine how severe a burden your working life is.
This is not a standardised clinical test – such tests should only ever be conducted with a psychologist or therapist in the context of professional counselling. So the results do not constitute a diagnosis and the derived parameters do not indicate where you stand in comparison with other people on average. They should serve solely as an encouragement towards self-reflection.

You should repeat the test from time to time. If you happen to be in an acutely difficult situation right now, like divorce, strains at work or the like, or perhaps dealing with a sad loss, it’s understandable that your mental state may be reflected in poorer values. Moreover, everyone has a bad day from time to time, when it’s hard to muster any joy or positive thoughts. So don’t give too much emphasis to bad results but rather take them much more as indications that it’s time to do yourself a favour and look for ways in which you might recharge your batteries. Do the test again after a while – you’ll see how, even after a steep turn for the worse, things can get better.

If no other time period is stated, then the questions relate to estimates over the last 14 days. As a rule the potential answers are grouped like school marks. The first potential answer, ranked all the way to the left, gets one point whilst the last gets five points. Enter your scores by each question and add up your total at the end of each test.
More about this test
1) Over the last six months, each week my average working hours were:
 
2) These weekly working hours
 
suit me
are a great burden
are a great burden
3) I’m in danger of losing my job.
 
not at all, presumably
very much
very much
4) Over the last six months I’ve done shift work.
 
5) This is a burden.
 
not at all
considerably
considerably
6) I’m often under time pressure at work.
 
no
considerably
considerably
7) I feel the level of responsibility I carry at work is altogether comfortable
 
consistently pleasant
a great burden
a great burden
8) When I wake up in the morning or at the weekend, I often think about work with a heavy heart.
 
almost never
very often
very often
9) Sometimes I cannot or can scarcely sleep because of work.
 
never happens
very often
very often
10) I often feel overtaxed by the level of difficulty of my tasks.
 
never happens
very often
very often
11) My relationship with colleagues is
 
very good
more of a burden
more of a burden
12) My boss puts me under pressure.
 
scarcely at all
very much
very much
13) I get support from my colleagues and managers.
 
very much
scarcely at all
scarcely at all
14) In my working life I often feel badly treated.
 
scarcely at all
yes, very much
yes, very much
15) I make a lot of sacrifices for my work.
 
scarcely at all
yes, very much
yes, very much
16) More recently I’ve been neglecting friendships because my work leaves no time or energy to spare.
 
never
very often
very often
17) I think I’m adequately rewarded for the effort I put into work (pay, praise, promotion, words of recognition).
 
highly applicable
not at all applicable
not at all applicable
18) If I don’t achieve some task at work, I can’t let it go.
 
almost never
often the case
often the case