Poor dears ! The rich who moan: We’re not happy . . .
IT is a claim that many of us might enjoy putting to the test but, apparently, the highest earners say being rich does not make them happy.
A survey found that 69 per cent of those earning more than £100,000 felt they had ‘significant’ problems in their private relationships.
By contrast, just 20 per cent of the general population admitted to problems with their partner.
The YouGov research was commissioned by law firm Howard Kennedy to test anecdotal evidence high earners were so unhappy they were a business risk.
More than 500 high earners, including some multi-millionaires, responded anonymously to the questioning.
They fell into three categories: business owners, partners or board members and non-board managers or directors.
According to the moaning high-flyers, job pressure affected their relationships, with 46 per cent complaining of long work hours.
Business trips were blamed by 38 per cent for strain caused by additional time spent away from home.
To 36 per cent, work was considered as damaging as infidelity and more destructive than the burden of raising children (27 per cent).
Among those who admitted problems, 71 per cent thought the stress affected their productivity or performance, The Sunday Times reported.
Lois Langton, of Howard Kennedy, said: ‘Employees aren’t robots who can switch off from the stress and strain of relationship problems the moment they cross the office threshold.’
Sir Paul Coleridge, chairman of the Marriage Foundation, added that the ‘Faustian pact’ of offering incentives to workers to hit more demanding targets may fail if it meant their relationships deteriorated.