Who is the MBI for? Workers, educators, and organisations
The MBI-HSS is for human services workers, the MBI-ES for educators, and the MBI-GS for other occupations, with adapted versions for medical personnel and for students. [1][2] Individuals can buy a single-use report. Organisations can buy group reports. [3] It should be used for personal reflection and group understanding, not to judge individual staff.
Which version is for me?
Human services workers use the MBI-HSS and educators the MBI-ES. [1] Everyone else, in occupations such as customer service, maintenance, manufacturing, management, and most other professions, uses the general survey, the MBI-GS. [2] Students have an adapted version. [1]
How do individuals and organisations get it?
An individual can buy a single-use "Report About Me". [3] Mind Garden also lists individual reports for developmental use with others, and group reports. [3] The prices listed on 2 November 2026 were $20, $15 each, $200, and $50 for the manual. Check the page before you rely on them. [3]
Can employers use it with staff?
Group reports exist so that organisations can look at average results across a team. Using one person's score to judge them is a different thing, and the publisher says the MBI is not a clinical diagnostic tool. [1] If you want to understand work stress in an organisation, use a work-design approach followed by conversation.
When is a different starting point better?
If you want a free option, the OLBI explainer links to one. If you want to compare exhaustion at work with exhaustion in general, the CBI. If you want thinking and emotional symptoms alongside exhaustion, the Burnout Assessment Tool. If you want an overall stress snapshot, the PSS-10. If you are in distress, talk to someone first.
Sources and further reading
These links open external research and health-information websites.
- Mind Garden: Maslach Burnout Inventory (the publisher's MBI page)
The versions and item counts, the three dimensions, the seven-point frequency scale, the five burnout profiles, the advice against a single burnout score, and the statement that cut-offs were removed from the fourth edition. Read on 2 November 2026. - Mind Garden: MBI General Survey (MBI-GS)
The 16-item general survey, its three scales and what each describes, the occupations it is meant for, and the profile classification. Read on 2 November 2026. - Mind Garden: Report About Me, MBI-GS
The single-use report for an individual, how the survey is delivered by email after purchase, what the report contains, and the prices listed. Read on 2 November 2026.
This page is educational. A questionnaire score cannot establish a diagnosis or explain the cause of your symptoms. If you are struggling, speak with a doctor or mental health professional, whatever your score. Read when to get help for work stress or find a helpline in your country.