Late nights at the office, long work trips, boozy office parties – roughly 85% of affairs begin in the workplace, with one in five employees confessing to being unfaithful with a colleague. The allure of the forbidden fruit can be fairly tempting, especially in an environment where professionalism and boundaries are expected to be upheld – and many can’t help but take a bite.
However, could certain professions be more prone to infidelity?
3,800 individuals across the UK were surveyed* to ultimately reveal the industries serving as hotbeds for workplace affairs where infidelity thrives.
Top industries for workplace affairs revealed
| Rank | Industry | No. of affairs | Proportion [of those who have confessed to infidelity] | Rank | Industry | No. of affairs | Proportion [of those who have confessed to infidelity] | |
| 1 | Sales | 239 | 14.5% | 14 | Social care | 31 | 1.9% | |
| 2 | Teacher, training, and education | 226 | 13.7% | 15 | Energy and utilities | 27 | 1.6% | |
| 3 | Healthcare | 205 | 12.5% | 16 | Retail | 23 | 1.4% | |
| 4 | Transport and logistics | 161 | 9.8% | 17 | Public services and administration | 22 | 1.3% | |
| 5 | Hospitality and events management | 126 | 7.7% | 18 | Marketing, advertising and PR | 14 | 0.9% | |
| 6 | Engineering and manufacturing | 109 | 6.6% | 19 | Environment and agriculture | 10 | 0.6% | |
| 7 | Property and construction | 90 | 5.5% | 20= | Law/Legal | 9 | 0.5% | |
| 8 | Accountancy, banking and finance | 88 | 5.4% | 20= | Media and internet | 9 | 0.5% | |
| 9 | Information technology | 76 | 4.6% | 22 | Creative arts and design | 7 | 0.4% | |
| 10 | Armed Forces | 65 | 4.0% | 23 | Law enforcement and security | 3 | 0.2% | |
| 11 | Recruitment and HR | 36 | 2.2% | 24= | Business, consulting and management | 2 | 0.1% | |
| 12= | Charity and voluntary work | 32 | 1.9% | 24= | Science and pharmaceuticals | 2 | 0.1% | |
| 12= | Leisure, sport and tourism | 32 | 1.9% |
Recruitment and HR among top 15 most unfaithful industries
The recruitment and HR industry harbours the 11th most cheating partners with 36 respondents (2.2%) admitting to have engaged in infidelity. Given the abundance of networking opportunities and social events that involve interaction across various departments, it’s not uncommon to become entangled in romantic workplace relationships.
Sales, education and healthcare head the list of cheating professionals
The survey can reveal that people who work in sales stacked up as the top cheaters with a striking 14.5% (239 individuals) admitting to having workplace affairs out of the 1,644 respondents who have confessed to infidelity. Often with irregular working hours and numerous work functions or networking events to attend, this places the industry at the forefront as a prime breeding ground for infidelity.
Following closely with 13.7% (226 respondents) guilty of cheating on their significant other, the second most common cheaters are in education – professors, teachers and lecturers. A surprising profession to land among the top three, intelligence is indeed sexy, and you never know what sort of extracurricular activity your teacher spouse is involved in, being named among the naughtiest of professionals!
In third place are healthcare workers with a staggering 12.5% (205 respondents) owning up to having cheated with a colleague. Plagued by long and unpredictable hours, overnight emergency shifts, and paramount stress, health professionals may lead them to seek solace with someone who is in the same field and understands their daily struggles.
Transport and logistics ranks as the fourth most likely to engage in infidelity (9.8%), while hospitality and events management in fifth accounts for 126 cases of infidelity (7.7%). On the flip side, partners of those working in science and pharmaceuticals, business management, and law enforcement can breathe a sigh of relief, with the three being the most faithful professions among all 25 industries analysed.
From casual office banter to regular coffee breaks, a substantial 24.8% (408 individuals) have confessed that the infidelity started within the workplace. Communication through texts, phone calls and social media accounted for 21.4% (352 respondents) while 21.2% (348 respondents) agreed that the affair flourished at workplace gatherings or events such as the notorious Christmas party where over millions of Brits admitted to have made this merry mistake.
An astonishing 25.5% (605 respondents) admitted to flirting with a colleague, and roughly half of that amount (15.1%) owned up to having further developed romantic feelings. Additionally, nearly 13% confessed to having a ‘work wife’ or ‘work husband’ following concerning study findings which have revealed that those with a work spouse are more prone to confide in them than their actual partners.
A surprising 22.2% (561 individuals) have been sneaky enough to keep their illicit act under the radarwhile 17% got caught due to someone at work exposing their clandestine behaviour. Moreover, a noteworthy 14.6% (368 respondents) were dramatically spotted by their partner’s friends who divulged their affair.
*Survey by RANT Casino
