The professions most likely to have an affair, from teachers to doctors

Around one in five marriages in the UK experience infidelity at some point in their relationships - but did you know some professions are more likely to have an affair than others?

A new survey has found that certain industries have more cheaters than others, with those working in sales the most likely to cheat, while those working in science and pharmaceuticals are the least likely to cheat.

The research looked at 3,800 adults from across and found that nearly half of these, or 1,644 of the respondents, admitted to infidelity.

Of the respondents who admitted to cheating, over one in 10 (14.5%) worked in the sales profession, according to the survey from RANT Casino, which was closely followed by those who worked in education (professors, teachers, and lecturers) at 13.7%.

The third profession most likely to cheat was healthcare workers such as doctors, with 12.5% admitting to cheating, followed by transport and logistics (9.8%), hospitality and events management (7.7%) and engineering and manufacturing.

The professions most likely to cheat

1. Sales - 14.5%

2. Teacher, training and education - 13.7%

3. Healthcare - 12.5%

4. Transport and logistics - 9.8%

5. Hospitality and events management - 7.7%

6. Engineering and manufacturing - 6.6%

7. Property and construction - 5.5%

8. Accountancy, banking and finance - 5.4%

9. Information technology - 4.6%

10. Armed forces - 4%

11. Recruitment and HR - 2.2%

12. Charity and volunteer work - 1.9%

13. Leisure, sport and tourism - 1.9%

The research also found the professions who were the least likely to cheat on their significant others, with science and pharmaceutical workers coming in at the bottom with 0.1%, followed by people working in business, consulting and management (0.1%), and law enforcement and security workers (0.2%).

Other professions who were least likely to cheat included creative arts and design workers (0.4%), those working in media (0.5%), lawyers and those in the legal profession (0.5%) and those working in environment and agriculture (0.6%).

The professions least likely to cheat

1. Science and pharmaceuticals - 0.1%

2. Business, consulting and management - 0.1%

3. Law enforcement and security - 0.2%

4. Creative arts and design - 0.4%

5. Media and internet - 0.5%

6. Law and legal - 0.5%

7. Environment and agriculture - 0.6%

8. Marketing, advertising and PR - 0.9%

9. Public services and administration - 1.3%

10. Retail - 1.4%

11. Energy and utilities - 1.6%

12. Social care - 1.9%

While someone’s profession can tell you if they are more likely to cheat, cheating doesn’t always signify the end of a relationship.

Recent research from affairs site Illicit Encounters found that over half (53%) of marriages that have experienced infidelity are able to recover after working through their issues - and that the main reason for cheating was lack of physical or emotional intimacy in their current relationship.

Relationships: Read more

• Guildford tops list of UK destinations where married couples are most likely to cheat (Yahoo Life UK, 5-min read)

• Married people who cheat have no regrets, new study finds (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read)

• Myths about affairs debunked: Surprising expert insights into how and why people cheat (Yahoo Life UK, 8-min read)