Is Your Job Bad for Your Relationship? 10 Careers With the Highest Divorce Rates
When you’re looking for a job, you are likely to consider the pay, benefits and how much you like the work. But have you ever considered how work might affect your relationships? There are, in fact, some jobs with the highest divorce rates.
You might guess that high-stress jobs are most taxing on couples, but that’s not always the case. Firefighters, financial analysts, social workers and paramedics all made the list of 2024’s most stressful jobs, but you won’t see them below.
There are some commonalities among the jobs with the highest divorce rates, but you could also see these same factors in other types of careers.
- Long work hours that leave partners exhausted and disconnected from one another
- High levels of stress or feeling unfulfilled at work that can spill over into your relationships, causing strain and increasing conflict
- Low pay can cause stress and money conflicts
Don’t immediately quit your job if you see it on the list, but if you’re curious, here are the 10 careers with the highest divorce rates.
1. Gaming Managers
This study found a 52.9% divorce rate among gaming managers at casinos or other gambling facilities. It does make sense. Their work combines high stress and long hours, plus they work in environments that are highly social and usually involve alcohol. All of these factors combine to create the potential for additional strain on your relationship.
2. Bartenders
Another social career is at the top of the list, with a divorce rate of 52.7%. Bartenders have long hours, especially at the time of day when your partner would probably like to spend time with you. Their schedules can be unpredictable and require disrupting plans to cover shifts. They may interact with flirtatious, drunk people or drink on the job. Add low pay on top of everything else and you can see how bartending made the list.
3. Flight Attendants
With how much time they have to spend away from home, it’s no wonder flight attendants have a high divorce rate of 50.5%. Long absences can weaken relationships, leaving both parties feeling unfulfilled.
Flying can also be unpredictable. Delayed flights, turbulence and unruly passengers can make being a flight attendant extremely stressful.
4. Gaming Services Workers
Casinos, again, are home to another job with a high divorce rate. Gaming services workers are getting divorced at a rate of 50.3%. Many of the same reasons apply. It’s a high-stress environment paired with alcohol, and people generally act more uninhibited. They can have hard demands on their time, particularly during holidays, nights and weekends. Casinos are often open 24 hours a day, which can disrupt your relationship with your spouse if you don’t plan carefully.
5. Rolling Machine Setters, Operators and Tenders
In the No. 5 spot, we are going to take a sharp turn away from our first four careers and dive into the impact of blue-collar work on relationships. With a divorce rate of 50.1%, what’s driving rolling machine setters, operators and tenders to divorce?
Shift work and exhaustive labor seem to be the biggest culprits for marital woes. They sometimes have less time for their partner and household responsibilities. The nature of their work might make them more exhausted and have less energy for things outside work.
6. Switchboard Operators
We do still have switchboard operators who manage a high-volume of phone calls and transfer them to the right departments. You can find them in health care, customer services and retail, just to name a few industries.
As you can imagine, phone call interactions aren’t always pleasant. Their work can be stressful, monotonous and extremely tedious. Most positions require the ability to track and keep detailed notes on every call. This isn’t exactly a fulfilling job, and that stress and frustration can spill over into relationships. Switchboard operators are getting divorced at a rate just shy of 50%.
7. Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators and Tenders
Another hard-working group of blue-collar workers is experiencing divorce at a rate of 49.6%. These industrial-type jobs can leave people feeling completely drained and unable to put much thought or effort into their marriages. They experience high levels of stress on the job, which can affect how they interact with others at home.
8. Telemarketers
Not many people are excited to talk to a telemarketer. So, they spend their entire day repeating the same scripts and getting in tense conversations over the phone. After hours and hours of this, it can be difficult to show up as a happy person at home. The stress and burnout associated with these types of jobs can show up in how you treat, talk to and connect with your spouse. Telemarketers have a high divorce rate of 47.8%.
9. Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Operators and Tenders
Textile knitting and weaving machine operators are getting divorced at a rate of 48.9%. This is another job with hard, long hours paired with repetitive, potentially mind-numbing tasks. This can lead to high levels of unhappiness and unfulfillment at work. And this is yet another job on our list with low pay, which can just add to the stress at home.
10. Extruding, Forming, Pressing and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators and Tenders
This career path may put you at a higher risk of divorce — 48.8%. This is a low-paying career that includes lots of shift work, which can interrupt family life and time together. It can also include long periods away from home, which can be taxing on anyone’s relationship.
What Did We Learn?
Having any of these jobs doesn’t mean that you are headed for divorce, after all, you may love your career! But there are common factors that can put stress and strain on your relationship.
Work with your partner to have open communications about the stress of their/your job and how you can prioritize each other and have a happy relationship.
On the Flip Side
It may be worth mentioning which jobs are on the other end of the spectrum. While they don’t guarantee marital bliss, there are some professions with low divorce rates.
- Actuaries – 17%
- Physical scientists – 18.9%
- Medical and life scientists – 19.6%
- Clergy – 19.8%
- Software developers, applications and system software – 20%
- Physical therapists – 20.7%
- Optometrists – 20.8%
- Chemical engineers – 21.1%
- Directors, religious activities and education – 21.3%
- Physicians and surgeons – 21.8%
More education and higher-paying careers tend to have lower divorce rates. When you remove the conflict of financial stress, it does seem to improve your success rate as a couple.
