golden handcuffs

American  

[gohl-duhn hand-kuhfs] / ˈgoʊl dən ˈhændˌkʌfs /

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 British  

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

---

golden handcuffs Idioms  

1. 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.

---

Etymology

Origin of golden handcuffs

First recorded in 1985–90

Example Sentences

“The golden handcuffs aren’t so golden anymore,” said Stephanie Geveda, who previously oversaw business-services investing at private-equity firm Warburg Pincus.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025

“It’s like golden handcuffs because where do you find a salary that matches what you had?”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 28, 2025

According to Leo Peak, a real estate agent at Peak Family Real Estate Group, many homeowners are currently feeling the "golden handcuffs" effect of being locked into their homes by historically low mortgage rates.

From Salon • Apr. 5, 2025

Based solely on their earning power, a more “authentic” lifestyle would be a more modest one, but instead this looked as if they had traded a pair of golden handcuffs for a diamond bedroom set.

From Washington Post • Dec. 16, 2022

Ruggedo had no fear of Files or Ozga, but to be on the safe side he had ordered golden handcuffs placed upon their wrists.

From Tik-Tok of Oz by Baum, L. Frank (Lyman Frank)