The stress that people in Minnesota bring home from work sometimes contributes to marital breakups, but meeting new people at work could inspire divorces as well. A study that analyzed 30 years of data collected in Denmark identified a relationship between certain types of jobs and higher divorce rates. The opportunity to meet opposite sex partners at work produced more divorces among men and women in certain occupations.

The researcher behind the study said that the availability of potential partners at work showed a stronger relationship between men and divorce, but the link appeared among women as well, but to a lesser extent. Men in industries with a large female presence had a much greater chance of divorce than men who worked in male-dominated fields like construction. Women who worked in male-dominated fields also sought divorces more often than women surrounded by mostly women at work.

The hotel and restaurant industry emerged as the occupational sector with the highest divorce rates. The researcher attributed this finding to the extensive interactions among fellow employees necessary for hospitality work. By comparison, relatively solitary occupations like librarians or farmers had the lowest divorce rates.

Although emotional dissatisfaction largely drives a person’s decision to divorce, ending a marriage involves many financial decisions. The marital estate must be divided so that the former partners can go their separate ways. A family law attorney could provide insights about a person’s specific situation and explain what financial consequences to expect. This information could help a person understand rights to portions of retirement accounts and real estate before signing off on a divorce settlement. In contentious cases, an attorney could act as the person’s representative during divorce negotiations. This might insulate the person from emotional confrontations and produce an equitable agreement.