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Maslach Burnout Inventory — General Survey

MBI-GS
psychologysocial scienceshealth sciencesLicensed — permission required

A 16-item measure of burnout in non-human-services occupations. Generalises the original MBI from human-service work to any occupational context. Produces three subscale scores: Exhaustion, Cynicism, and Professional Efficacy (the last is reverse-indexed for burnout — higher efficacy = lower burnout).

Items
16
Response format
7-point frequency scale
Version
1.0
Subscales
3

Ready-to-cite methods sentence

Burnout was assessed using the 16-item Maslach Burnout Inventory — General Survey (MBI-GS; Schaufeli, Leiter, Maslach, & Jackson, 1996), a licensed instrument measuring Exhaustion, Cynicism, and Professional Efficacy on a 7-point frequency scale. Item wording and a research license were obtained from Mind Garden, Inc.

Reliability & validation

Validation population
Cross-occupational samples reported in Schaufeli, Leiter, Maslach, & Jackson (1996)
Cronbach's α
0.78–0.87

Subscales

ExhaustionCynicismProfessional Efficacy

Known limitations

LICENSED INSTRUMENT — requires purchase from Mind Garden, Inc. before use (https://www.mindgarden.com/). Exact item wording, current norms, and scoring cut-offs must be taken from the licensed MBI Manual (4th ed. or later), not from secondary reproductions. The placeholder at order 15 should be completed from the licensed manual before data collection. Professional Efficacy is not an inverse of burnout symptoms and is increasingly analysed as a distinct dimension (see Maslach & Leiter, 2016).

Original citation

Schaufeli, W. B., Leiter, M. P., Maslach, C., Jackson, S. E. (1996). Maslach Burnout Inventory — General Survey.

This instrument is licensed. Obtain permission from the copyright holder before using it in your study.

Questions researchers ask

What does the MBI-GS measure?

A 16-item measure of burnout in non-human-services occupations. Generalises the original MBI from human-service work to any occupational context. Produces three subscale scores: Exhaustion, Cynicism, and Professional Efficacy (the last is reverse-indexed for burnout — higher efficacy = lower burnout).

How many items does the MBI-GS have?

The Maslach Burnout Inventory — General Survey (MBI-GS) has 16 items across 3 subscales: Exhaustion, Cynicism, Professional Efficacy.

Is the MBI-GS free to use?

The MBI-GS is licensed. You must obtain permission from the copyright holder before using it in a study — Folio does not distribute its item wording without that permission.

Is the MBI-GS reliable?

Validation studies report Cronbach's α of 0.78–0.87. See the reliability section for the population studied and full statistics.

Who developed the MBI-GS, and how do I cite it?

Schaufeli, W. B., Leiter, M. P., Maslach, C., Jackson, S. E. (1996). Maslach Burnout Inventory — General Survey.

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Library entry verified January 2024. Metadata is provided for reference; item wording is available inside Folio Surveyor, subject to each instrument's licensing.