The Professions Most Likely to Cheat in the UK

Lockdown put relationships under strain — and recent studies reported that 41% of women and 60% of men were dissatisfied with their sex lives during quarantine. As restrictions eased, researchers wondered whether dissatisfaction at home would translate into infidelity elsewhere.

We surveyed 2,400 U.K. professionals to find out what percentage admit to cheating on a partner, how many have been unfaithful with a colleague, and which industries correlate most — and least — with unfaithful behavior.

The results are blunt: nearly half of respondents admitted to cheating, with advertising and PR professionals topping the “most likely” list and manufacturing at the bottom. Below are the full rankings, workplace-affair statistics, and methodology — preserved exactly from the original research.

How faithful are U.K. professionals overall?

Out of 2,400 respondents, a staggering 46% admitted to having cheated on a partner — almost half of those surveyed. Alarmingly, this means that just over half of the professionals appear to have kept their vow to stay faithful to their loved one.

Of those that did cheat, 70% blame uncontrollable sexual desires for their betrayal, making this the leading reason behind cheating. Meanwhile, it was situational factors and opportunity that 20% of Brits say drove them to cheat, leaving 1 in 10 Brits seeking to defend their actions on the basis of low self-esteem.

So, are 46% of Brits' relationships in disrepair? Apparently not. In fact, upon being asked whether there were any repercussions for their cheating ways, 90% of cheats said they “got away with it,” with only 30% vowing not to do it again. Of the 10% of relationships where a partner did discover the cheating, those surveyed had all managed to work through the past and remain together.

With almost half of Britain admitting to cheating, we sought to uncover whether there was a correlation between unfaithful tendencies and professional roles. Spoiler alert — there is.

Which professions are most likely to cheat?

A whopping 6 in 10 Advertising and PR professionals admitted to being a cheat, crowning them with the unfortunate title of the professionals most likely to cheat.

Shortly behind and placing second were professionals in Education, with over half (54%) of those in this profession confessing to having had a heated affair behind a partner's back.

Rounding off the three professions most likely to cheat were Computer Software professionals, suggesting that these technical wizards must get a lot more attention than we give them credit for. With an overwhelming 46% of those in Computer Software admitting to being unfaithful, they narrowly stole third place from those in Construction, a profession in which 42% confessed to deceit.

Also placing within the top five professions most likely to cheat were Doctors and Health Professionals, with 4 in 10 of these admitting to cheating in our survey.

Which professions are least likely to cheat?

However, for those in a relationship with a Manufacturing professional, the picture was far less bleak. In fact, of the 20 occupations surveyed, those in Manufacturing were crowned the most faithful, with only 1% admitting to cheating on a partner.

Those that worked in the Environmental sector placed as the second least likely profession to cheat, with just 2% of professionals guilty of adultery. Publishing and Printing professionals were next, also appearing to be very content with their love lives, since they narrowly missed out on second place with only 3% admitting to cheating.

Rounding off the top five professions least likely to cheat were professionals working in the Farming and Architecture industries, with 5% of people surveyed confessing to double-dealing.

How many U.K. professionals cheat with a colleague?

With a clear correlation between cheating tendencies and professions, we also asked how many professionals have cheated with colleagues, particularly within unfaithful professions.

Of those surveyed, almost 1 in 3 revealed that they have cheated with a colleague. Despite such a large proportion confessing, it was found that none of these workplace affairs blossomed into anything more, with 100% sharing that they and said colleague did not end up together.

If you are wondering how their infidelity went down with other colleagues, it was not as awful as we might expect. In fact, 67% reported that other colleagues never found out about their actions. Meanwhile, 17% revealed that colleagues found out, yet ignored the deceit, leaving only 17% judged by their fellow colleagues.

Survey methodology

We surveyed 2,400 professionals from across the U.K. Of those surveyed, 43% of respondents were male and 57% were female.

We included 20 sectors within the study, breaking down to approximately 100 people per sector. The sectors included were as follows: Advertising / Public Relations, Education, Computer Software, Construction, Doctors and Other Health Professionals, Professional Theatre, Food and Hospitality, Law, Finance, Hotels and Tourism, Transportation, Public and Civil Officials, Accountants, Real Estate, Dentists, Farming, Agricultural Services, Publishing and Printing, Environment, and Manufacturing.

Frequently asked questions

What percentage of U.K. workers admit to cheating?

Forty-six percent of the 2,400 professionals surveyed admitted to cheating on a partner — meaning just over half said they had stayed faithful.

Which profession is most likely to cheat in the U.K.?

Advertising and PR professionals ranked highest, with 6 in 10 admitting to infidelity. Education (54%) and computer software (46%) placed second and third.

Which profession is least likely to cheat?

Manufacturing ranked as the most faithful sector, with only 1% of respondents admitting to cheating, followed by environmental services (2%) and publishing and printing (3%).