10 jobs with the highest divorce rates

We work because we have to, and also to make life better—jobs afford us the income we need to survive, in addition to hopefully offering some level of personal fulfillment. Unfortunately, work can also have negative consequences that spill over into our personal lives. One of the worst side effects of a job is when it interferes with marriages, and certain jobs are more likely to lead to divorce than others. The following 10 jobs have the highest divorce rates, and you may be surprised by some of the results.

1. Dancer/Choreographer

Believe it or not, dancers and dance choreographers are the professionals most at risk for divorce. The intimacy of dancing often leads to extramarital affairs between co-workers.

2. Bartender

Less of a shock is that fact that a large number of married bartenders split up with their spouses. Just think about it: a workplace in which people gather to hook up + heavy doses of free-flowing alcohol = a recipe for disaster for some people.

3. Massage Therapist

What’s more intimate than swaying together on the dance floor or sharing a shot at the bar? Well, touching another person’s unclothed body comes to mind. That’s the job description of massage therapists, so it is unsurprising that their marriages tend to break up.

4. Gaming Cage Worker

Being a gaming cage worker involves conducting financial transactions at casinos. Casinos attract clientele who enjoy the edgy entertainments of gambling and drinking, and such people may be more likely to engage in the equally risky pursuit of infidelity. Gaming cage workers have the extra enticement of dealing directly with money, which is a major turn on for a lot of people.

5. Extruding Machine Operators

An extruding machine operator works on an assembly line. One theory is that this repetitious, alienating, and highly unstable work causes a psychological disconnect in workers that can lead to divorce. It is also low-paying work performed by people with relatively little education, which can also be factors in unstable marriages.

6. Gaming Service Worker

Now we return to the casino for another job that often spells trouble for marriages. Gaming service workers tend to get divorced for the same reasons as gaming cage workers. They are possibly slightly less at risk since gaming service workers are not actually involved in the exchange of money, though there is more direct contact with other people.

7. Factory Worker

Like extruding machine operators, factory workers perform repetitive, low-paying work that does not require a higher education degree. Such people are likelier to get divorces than highly educated, financially stable individuals who get to perform more intellectually stimulating and personally fulfilling work.

8. Switchboard Operator

Switchboard operator may seem like a decidedly old-fashioned job, but these folks who direct our phone calls are still around in great enough number to register in divorce-rate censuses. The stress of switchboard work is a major factor in the high divorce rate of people who perform this rapidly disappearing job.

9. Nurse/Health Aide

Working as a nurse or health aide comes with the dual issues of being highly stressful and extremely intimate. The long hours involved in such work can put a major strain on a marriage, and the close contact between worker and patient can lead to infidelity.

10. Entertainer/Performer/Pro Athlete

You may have expected entertainers and pro athletes to take the top spot on this list since no one receives more attention for getting divorced than entertainers and athletes. Of course, no one receives more attention for doing absolutely anything than entertainers and pro athletes. Nevertheless, these are jobs that involve spending weeks or months away from home and being on the receiving end of adulation from fans who often have more in mind than snagging an autograph.