Jobs That Cause Divorce

A recent paper published in the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology shows that people working in stressful jobs or extrovert environments at work have a higher risk of divorce. The study, co-written by Michael Aamodt, a professor at Radford University in Virginia, examined various occupations and their rates of divorce. After controlling each given occupation for demographic variables that might be related to divorce, the study was able to extrapolate race, gender, age and income information for each type of work.

While it is not surprising that marriages fail when spouses have jobs that demand long hours and unpredictable work cycles, the study did find a few occupations that carried a higher risk for divorce than might be expected. People working in extrovert environments like the entertainment or hospitality industries, will obviously meet more people and have more opportunity to develop relationships with them.  Dancers, choreographers and bartenders have around a 40% chance of experiencing a marriage meltdown. More sedate professions carry less risk, thus optometrists, dentists, clergymen and podiatrists experience a less than 10% risk of divorce.

Another interesting facet of the study was the finding that people in the nursing and caring-type professions have a higher risk of divorce than would be expected. The data showed that people with jobs as nurses and home health aides experienced a near 30% chance of divorce. The number is surprising when one compares it to people working as travel agents, writers or policemen who only have a 16% likelihood of divorce. The high level of marriage failure for the care professions might be due to the fact that nurses and aides spend more time caring for other people than they do for their own families.

Risk of divorce by Profession:

1.    Dancers & choreographers                 43%

2.    Bartenders                      38%

3.    Massage therapists                  38%

4.    Nursing, psychiatric, & home health aides      28%

5.    Entertainers, performers, & sportspeople      28%

6.    Baggage porters & concierges          28%

7.    Telemarketers                      28%

8.    Waiters/waitresses                   27%

9.    Roofers                      26%

10.    Maids & housekeeping cleaners          26%

11.    Secretaries & mathematicians          20%

12.    Journalists & urban planners              18%

13.    Librarians, dietitians & fitness instructors     17%

14.    Travel agents, writers & police          16%

15.    Judges & magistrates                12%

16.    Chief executives                  10%

17.    Optometrists, dentists, & podiatrists          7%

18.    Agricultural engineers               2%