Burnout Clock's Burnout Velocity Calculator is a free diagnostic that computes a directional Burnout Velocity Score (BVS) from 12 operational questions — then tells you why (a root-cause split across four drivers), how fast (a signed acceleration), and when it becomes irreversible (your Point of No Return date). Every benchmark traces to a named, linked public source.
Operational, not attitudinal. We don't ask how you feel — we ask what you did. Answer honestly; the math only works if the inputs do.
Computed locally in your browser. No account required. Nothing leaves this page.
Where your velocity is actually coming from — weighted by Maslach Burnout Inventory sub-dimensions.
Your BVS placed against published burnout statistics for your industry, role and work arrangement.
Avg BVS-equivalents derived from sector prevalence figures — full sources in the benchmark table.
A clinical, postable card. HR forwards these. Recruiters read them.
Velocity is reversible — but only with deliberate friction against the dominant driver. These are real, widely-used tools this audience already buys. Pick based on your top root cause.
If your BVS is workload-driven, the fastest lever is defending recovery time on your calendar automatically. Reclaim auto-blocks focus and breaks before meetings eat them.
Try Reclaim.ai →When the split points at identity, the work conversation is really a values conversation. BetterHelp matches you to a licensed therapist within ~48h — useful for untangling "is it the job or is it me."
Get matched →If burnout is manager-driven, documentation is leverage. A shared Notion workspace makes invisible load visible — the single best artifact for a "this isn't sustainable" 1:1.
Start free →Disclosure: the links above are affiliate links. If you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only list tools we'd recommend regardless. Burnout Clock itself is free, has no paid tier, and stores none of your data.
Reported burnout prevalence and our derived average BVS-equivalent by sector. Every row is a named, published figure — click through to verify.
| Industry | Prevalence | Avg BVS equiv. | Primary risk factor | Source |
|---|
BVS-equivalent is a directional mapping of published prevalence to our 0–100 velocity scale, not a separately surveyed figure. It exists to position your personal result; treat prevalence percentages as the authoritative numbers.
How the score is derived — transparently, from your own answers.
Links point to each organization's published research index. Figures are reproduced as cited; we do not invent precision beyond the source.
Tiredness recovers after a weekend; burnout doesn't. The Burnout Velocity Calculator separates the two by asking operational questions — how many Sunday nights you dreaded Monday, how many weeks since you felt proud of something you shipped, how many times you fantasized about quitting mid-task. If those signals are recent and frequent, the tool returns a positive acceleration (worsening). If they're improving, it returns a negative one (you're just tired and recovering). A bad week shows up as low acceleration; real burnout shows up as a steep, positive vector.
This is the differentiator. Most tools give one severity number; ours computes a root-cause split across four drivers — Manager Efficacy, Workload Density, Autonomy Deficit, and Identity-Work Misalignment — weighted by the Maslach Burnout Inventory sub-dimensions. If the donut comes back "71% manager-driven," changing jobs into a similar workload won't help; the lever is the relationship or the reporting line. If it's workload-driven, the lever is capacity and recovery time, not a new boss.
Yes — that's the entire design of this one. Every question is behavioral and countable: unused vacation days, meetings that produced no decision, quit-fantasy frequency, 3pm-Tuesday energy. We deliberately avoid "rate your stress 1–10" wellness sliders because they measure mood, not trajectory. The output is a signed velocity score plus a Point of No Return date computed from your own momentum, not a static tier.
Three behavioral tells dominate the acceleration term: (1) multiple consecutive dreaded Sundays — a single one is noise, three-plus is a trend; (2) increasing gap since you last felt proud of your work — pride is the first thing to decay; (3) quit-fantasies during tasks, which signal depersonalization, the MBI's middle-stage marker. When those rise together while recovery events (vacation, weekends that actually rested you) fall, acceleration goes positive and the PNR date moves closer.
Recovery isn't a fixed clock, but severity sets the floor. Mild, recently-onset burnout (decelerating vector, BVS under ~40) often eases in weeks with boundary changes. Established burnout (terminal velocity, BVS 55–75) typically needs months and a structural change — workload, role, or manager — not just rest. Once the vector tips past the Point of No Return into chronic disengagement, recovery usually requires stepping fully away. For a personalized timeline, see our Burnout Recovery Timeline Calculator.
You know your velocity. Now estimate the climb back — a recovery timeline based on severity, support, and whether you change the underlying conditions.