ONCE they were the kings of the urban jungle, working all hours to get their hands on the top jobs. But now, say researchers, male yuppies are fast losing their professional drive in response to the rise of the working woman.

A detailed study of urban behaviour in adults under the age of 35 has found that women are now the superbeasts of the City, showing an unswerving ambition to outperform their male counterparts.

While a drink with the boss and late nights in the office are regular fixtures for the young female professional, many men found that increasing competition had dulled their appetite for working life.

Research by Henley Management College, involving more than a 1,000 interviews in eight cities, identified five types of lifestyle adopted by young Britons.

Of those people identified as “Live to Work-ers” — rating the workplace as the most dominant place in their lives — more than 60 per cent were women. Most were in their late 20s and early 30s, living in the South of England, and readily admitting to letting office politics take precedence throughout their lives.

In sharp contrast, a surprising number of men were found to have a waning concern for their careers. More than 60 per cent of “Homeodynamics” — those people more preoccupied with socialising and other interests — were identified as male.

Michael Hulme, the project director, said the centre’s findings had revealed a marked alteration in both traditional male and female roles. He said that women showed a shift towards greater aggression in pursuit of their ambitions, while revealing the ability to manipulate their social lives to the benefit of their careers.

“Women are becoming very agressive in work and very willing to work long hours,” he said. “Their whole social life can be dictated by work. Who they meet is all about networking, and they are revealing themselves to be far more adept at it than men.”

Mr Hulme said that men, in contrast, showed a growing dislike for the competition in what was traditionally a male preserve.

“Man’s traditional territory and preserves have been taken away from him, and he is not showing the ability to adapt and develop new strategies to cope with this. Our research shows that its is rapidly becoming a woman’s world.”

The survey, conducted in London, Leeds, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Leicester and Bristol, also found that those in the South, especially in London, were far more concerned with work.

But Leeds was found to be the best place to live, with two thirds of under-35s rating it as a superior city for entertainment, cleanliness, transport and amenities.

Of the men and women interviewed, an equal number of each were found to be “Hearth Lovers” — those with a specific drive to spend time at home. More men than women were also identified as “transitory balanced” individuals, giving work and personal affairs equal priority.

Cary Cooper, Professor of Oorganisational Psychology at Lancaster University Management School, said that the findings confirmed recent trends: “There are a lot of women who are highly ambitious, have been to university and have often done better than their male counterparts. They are now seeing the workplace and wondering why they shouldn’t be at the top.

“They are becoming a very big threat to men. Women are hunkering down, working very hard at their jobs and doing them very well. Their added value is greater than men’s because they are striving harder to prove themselves in what was a male bastion.”

Professor Cooper said that men were reacting increasingly badly to the challenge of driven female professionals.

“Men still have traditional models of male breadwinners in their head,” he said. “They see themselves as good at work but, looking beyond that, there is not much else to them.”

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