Sales Burnout Risk Calculator
A 12-question self-scored diagnostic across workload, recovery, and rejection exposure that produces a burnout-risk score and points you to the one change most likely to move the needle this week.
What's inside
- 12 scored diagnostic questions across 3 domains: Workload, Recovery, Rejection Exposure
- 0-4 point Likert scoring key with clear anchors
- Domain sub-score worksheet (0-16 per domain)
- Total risk score out of 48
- 4-band risk interpretation: Low / Elevated / High / Severe
- Domain-priority logic for identifying your single biggest driver
- 3 named First Fix protocols (one per domain) with exact numbered steps
- 2-week re-test protocol with a pass/fail threshold
- Manager-escalation guidance triggered automatically at the Severe band
Twelve questions. Five minutes. One number, one clear first move.
This isn't a generic wellbeing quiz — it's built around the three things that actually drive burnout in a quota-carrying sales role: how much you're working, how well you're recovering, and how much rejection you're absorbing without processing it. Answer based on the last 7 working days, not your best week or your worst.
How to score each question
Rate how true each statement has been for you, using this scale:
| Score | Label |
|---|---|
| 0 | Never / Not true |
| 1 | Rarely |
| 2 | Sometimes |
| 3 | Often |
| 4 | Almost always / Very true |
Write your score in the blank next to each item. Don't overthink it — first honest answer.
Part 1 — Workload
| # | Statement | Score |
|---|---|---|
| W1 | I work through lunch without a real break away from my desk/screen. | ___ |
| W2 | I'm still doing sales tasks (calls, follow-ups, CRM, proposals) after 7pm on a typical weekday. | ___ |
| W3 | I do sales work during some part of my weekend most weeks. | ___ |
| W4 | My current pipeline/quota load feels heavier than I can hit without cutting corners on quality. | ___ |
Workload subtotal (W1+W2+W3+W4): ___ / 16
Part 2 — Recovery
| # | Statement | Score |
|---|---|---|
| R1 | I get less than 7 hours of sleep on a typical work night. | ___ |
| R2 | I go 2+ days in a row with no real physical activity (walk, gym, sport, anything that raises my heart rate). | ___ |
| R3 | I have no non-negotiable personal time this week that work hasn't already eaten into (hobby, exercise slot, family time). | ___ |
| R4 | When I'm off the clock, I still catch myself thinking about deals, quota, or a bad call. | ___ |
Recovery subtotal (R1+R2+R3+R4): ___ / 16
Part 3 — Rejection Exposure
| # | Statement | Score |
|---|---|---|
| E1 | I get told "no," ghosted, or hung up on in most of my outreach attempts this week. | ___ |
| E2 | After a rejection or a lost deal, I keep replaying it instead of moving to the next task within a few minutes. | ___ |
| E3 | I don't have anyone — manager, peer, mentor — I'd actually tell if a week went badly. | ___ |
| E4 | A meaningful deal has fallen through, a hot prospect has gone dark, or I've missed a number in the last 2 weeks. | ___ |
Rejection Exposure subtotal (E1+E2+E3+E4): ___ / 16
Total Burnout Risk Score
Workload ___ + Recovery ___ + Rejection Exposure ___ = TOTAL ___ / 48
Risk bands
| Score | Band | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 0–12 | Low | Normal operating stress. No action needed beyond routine maintenance. |
| 13–24 | Elevated | You're managing, but at least one system is under strain. Address it before it compounds. |
| 25–36 | High | Active burnout drivers are outrunning your recovery. Intervene this week, not "someday." |
| 37–48 | Severe | You are at meaningful risk of burnout-driven mistakes, health impact, or attrition. Escalate to your manager and don't wait for a re-test. |
Your one first fix
Whichever of your three subtotals is highest tells you where to act first — fixing the biggest leak beats spreading effort across all three. If two subtotals tie, start with Recovery — it's the fastest lever to pull and it improves your capacity to fix the other two.
If Workload is your highest subtotal — run "The 6pm Hard Stop":
- Pick one weekday task (proposal writing, CRM cleanup, prep) and move it to a defined AM slot instead of squeezing it in after hours.
- Set a recurring calendar block titled "Day End" at 6pm. When it fires, close the laptop lid — physically — even mid-task.
- Tell your manager or a teammate you're doing this for 2 weeks, so there's a witness and light accountability.
- Anything genuinely urgent gets triaged the next morning at 8am, not at 9pm.
If Recovery is your highest subtotal — run "The Non-Negotiable Recovery Block":
- Pick one 45-minute slot, same time every day, and label it in your calendar as an unmovable meeting (sleep wind-down, a walk, gym, whatever restores you).
- Treat it exactly as you'd treat a call with your VP — you don't cancel it for an inbound Slack ping.
- Turn off work notifications for that block specifically (not "all day" — that's rarely sustainable to start).
- Track only one metric for 2 weeks: did the block happen, yes/no.
If Rejection Exposure is your highest subtotal — run "The 60-Second Reset After No":
- After every rejection, hang-up, or lost deal, take 60 seconds before touching the next task: stand up, walk away from your desk, take 3 slow breaths.
- Say (out loud or in your head) one sentence that separates the outcome from your worth: "That was a no to the offer, not a no to me."
- Log the rejection in one line in a notes doc instead of replaying it mentally — write it down once, then let it go.
- Book 15 minutes this week with one person (manager, peer, mentor) specifically to talk about how the week is actually going, not just pipeline numbers.
Re-test
Re-run this calculator in 2 weeks. If your total score hasn't dropped by at least 4 points, the first fix wasn't enough on its own — escalate to your manager with your score and ask for a workload or territory conversation, not just moral support.
How to use it
Score yourself against the last 7 working days, add up the three domain subtotals, and find your band. Run the First Fix protocol tied to whichever domain scored highest for two weeks, then re-take the calculator to check movement.