Teachers, Healthcare Workers Are Most Likely to Cheat on Their Partners

Teachers and healthcare workers are some of the most likely workers to cheat on their spouses, a new report from RANT Casino shows.

The report looked at survey data from 3,800 people across the United Kingdom to figure out which industries are most and least likely to cheat.

Around 85 percent of affairs begin in the workplace, and a whopping one in five employees confessed to being unfaithful with a colleague, showing how prominent workplace affairs are today.

In the top place for infidelity in the workplace was sales, with 14.5 percent of all workers in this field confessing to infidelity.

Meanwhile, some more surprising jobs came up next, with teachers taking second place for most unfaithful at 13.7 percent and healthcare workers reporting affairs 12.5 percent of the time.

The next most cheating industries were transport and logistics, hospitality and events management, engineering and manufacturing, property and construction, accounting, banking and finance, information technology and the armed forces.

Meanwhile, some industries were far more loyal.

Those less likely to report infidelity included those in science and pharmaceuticals at just 0.1 percent, followed by business, consulting and management, law enforcement and security, creative arts and design, media. Lawyers also made the cut for some of the most loyal career types, only reporting infidelity 0.5 percent of the time.

Jessica Fernandez, a real estate agent at Coldwell Banker Realty, saw these statistics reflected in her own life after being cheated on by her partner of five years.

Fernandez discovered he had been cheating last October with his 23-year-old assistant.

The two met while Fernandez's partner worked at a company that distributed auto parts to auto repair shops and stores, but once the affair began, Fernandez's spidey senses were going off.

"I had already started to suspect that something was going on," Fernandez told Newsweek. "I would prepare his lunch, and he'd ask me to pack extra for her. Or he'd bring his lunch back home because she would bring him food she made at home. I'd call him during the day, and he'd be eating lunch with her."

All of a sudden, her husband and his assistant were incredibly close friends and constantly together at work.

When Fernandez attended the work's family employee baseball event, she immediately sensed something was wrong.

"I introduced myself to her and just felt her energy was off, like she was super uncomfortable even standing near me," she said.

A few weeks later, Fernandez developed a hunch—she checked her partner's phone and saw a message from the assistant responding "Okay babe, thanks." Suddenly, it was crystal clear what had happened, Fernandez said.

"That was it for me," Fernandez said. "I confronted him about it immediately. He of course denied it left and right that there was something wrong."

While both Fernandez's partner and his assistant denied it, she kept track of his texts, monitoring how often they'd send texts alluding to their emotional and physical affair.

"You know what they say, 'A woman can investigate better than the FBI,'" Fernandez said. "I am proof of that."

While Fernandez stayed quiet about the affair for some time, she was working to plan her next move and reach financial independence as a stay-at-home mom at the time.

Two weeks after she found out she was pregnant with their second child, Fernandez confronted her partner. She printed all the text conversations and placed them in the front seat of his car one morning along with a duffle bag of clothes.

"When he left the house that morning I sent him a text, letting him know I knew the truth, and was done," Fernandez said.

Because of the long hours and job proximity, Fernandez does believe the job was related to the cheating.

"The job played a role because they were working closely at work all day, every day, sometime even on weekends," she said. "And there were many times where after work she would reach out for work-related things. She was his right-hand person, so they were constantly in communication with each other. She developed a crush on him after a while, and he knew that and took advantage of it."

Tim Connon, the founder of ParamountQuote Insurance Advisors, also had a troubling experience with cheating when he dated a woman in sales. After Connon discovered text messages on her phone from a man, he quickly realized she had been sending him inappropriate pictures and cheating with him for several months.

"I confronted her about it the day after I read the texts when she got home from work," Connon told Newsweek. "Instead of denying it she was truthful and told me it was going on for over three months."

Connon can see how the job put the cheating in action since his partner met her fellow cheater at the workplace.

"The job played a role because, evidently, the man was a client of hers," Connon said.

The two met when his partner presented a policy to him, and they formed a relationship soon after.

"It was immensely heartbreaking and has been hard to get over ever since," Connon said.

While Connon himself works in life insurance sales as well, he thinks the industry brings on many factors that would encourage cheating in the workplace.

"I asked her why she did it when she was confessing to me and her main reason she claimed was high amounts of stress and pressure," Connon said. "I am also in life insurance sales so I do understand the stress and pressure it creates. However, I would never use it to justify breaking someone's heart."

Ginny Priem was also a salesperson for two decades in the medical aesthetics industry and saw how prevalent cheating was firsthand.

"I saw cheating prominently in my industry," Priem told Newsweek.

There were many opportunities because of the sheer number of sales meetings and traveling engagements which forced workers to be away from their partners.

"There was a guy that I worked with that tried to hand me his hotel room key on two different occasions to get me to go to his hotel room with him. He was, and still is, married with a child. I expect that I was not an anomaly," Priem said.

Priem also experienced cheating herself when her partner, who worked as a personal trainer, cheated while she was away traveling on business.

"I found out because one of the women came forward as her friend encouraged her since he lived with me and I was basically a step-parent to his two children," Priem, who details the story in her novel You're My Favorite said.

"I definitely think my job with my extensive travel played a role and his job with the flexibility in hours also played a role."

What Makes a Cheater

As these harrowing stories of infidelity suggest, some careers are more prone to cheating because of irregular work hours and various work functions, which could make an affair more likely, experts say. This is true for those working in sales, healthcare and education, making the fields ripe for unethical romantic behavior.

"Certain industries may be more prone to cheating due to high-pressure environments, competitive structures, or even a lack of clear ethical guidelines," New York-based therapist Lin Sternlicht told Newsweek.

If there's something about the industry that is prone to lead to high stress, that can carry on over into a relationship.

"You have to look at the nature of these fields and the potential strain they can put on a relationship," licensed marriage and family therapist Yonah Fenton told Newsweek. "Typically, people cheat because they are looking for someone outside their relationship to provide them with the thing they are missing in their relationship."

While teaching, sales and healthcare are all very different fields, each requires a high degree of time and commitment and presents very stressful environments. If someone working this job is less giving in their relationships, they typically also receive less from their partner, which could lead to them looking elsewhere.

Still, it's important not to stereotype all of the people in these fields as instant cheaters and to remember the importance of individual choice.

"Correlation does not always mean causation. While it may be more common to see infidelity in one industry over another, it is not the industry that is necessarily at fault," Kara Kays, a licensed family and marriage therapist with Thriveworks, told Newsweek.

It's more likely that industries with a lot of travel or limited time at home can make a perfect storm for personal needs to be unmet within a marriage.

"Infidelity occurs in relationships where one or both partners' needs are not being met," Kays said. "This could be happiness, intimacy, as well as connection."

To prevent this type of situation, clear and honest communication is key.

"Couples can work to fight infidelity by having regular check-ins with each other, listening to truly understand, not argue, connect in the ways that help both partners feel a deep level of safety, and ensure there is an alignment in expectations in the relationship," Kays said.

A large number of the affairs reported took place in the workplace, the study found, with nearly 25 percent confessing the cheating started at work. Meanwhile, 21 percent said their affairs had been helped by workplace gatherings or events, like holiday parties or networking happy hours.

Romantics might also be disturbed to find out that even if not a full-fledged affair, one in four respondents admitted to flirting with a coworker, and 15 percent said they developed romantic feelings. Nearly 13 percent said they indeed have a 'work wife' or 'work husband.'

Not everyone with an affair gets caught, either. The study found 22 percent of individuals were able to keep their infidelity a secret.

Therapists encourage couples to implement a range of strategies to prevent any cheating situation like this from occurring in or outside of the workplace.

"Always make your relationship a priority," Fenton said. "I know that you have to bring your work home sometimes and that you are stressed constantly. However, for the sake of your relationship, set aside time every day to be with one another."