golden handcuffs

[ gohl-duhn hand-kuhfs ]

plural noun

1. incentives like bonuses, raises, insurance plans, and flexible hours that discourage employees from leaving a company:

   She wasn’t especially happy in her job, but the healthcare benefits were the golden handcuffs that kept her from looking elsewhere.

golden handcuffs

plural noun

1. informal.
   payments deferred over a number of years that induce a person to stay with a particular company or in a particular job

Word History and Origins

Origin of golden handcuffs¹

First recorded in 1985–90

Idioms and Phrases

Financial benefits that an employee will lose upon resigning, as in The company's presented all the middle managers with golden handcuffs, so they can't afford to leave . This slangy business expression dates from the 1970s.

Example Sentences

“Because of high interest rates,” he said, “there’s no mobility out of rental situations to buy homes. Everyone is stuck — homeowners with golden handcuffs, renters basically with unadorned handcuffs.”

From Los Angeles Times

"Buyers are jumping back in the fray as the new normal of rates are setting in. Homeowners who would typically sell their home, however, have the golden handcuffs of yesterday's rates making it much more attractive to stay put," says Rachel Mehmedagic, owner of Windermere Real Estate's office on Mercer Island in the Seattle region.

From BBC

Advisers had counseled him that a possible indictment by a Manhattan grand jury involving hush-money payments to an adult-film star would not come for some time — if at all — and Trump had even begun joking about “golden handcuffs,” said one person who spoke with him in recent days.

From Washington Post

Trump ahead of the indictment had been joking about "golden handcuffs," according to The Washington Post, but did not expect the news to land this week.

From Salon

Some workers may now, post-layoff and with their golden handcuffs snipped, take the chance to find jobs more aligned with their values.

From Los Angeles Times