golden handcuffs

[ gohl-duhn hand-kuhfs ]
See synonyms for golden handcuffs on Thesaurus.com
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.

Origin of golden handcuffs

1
First recorded in1985–90

Words Nearby golden handcuffs

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for golden handcuffs

golden handcuffs

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with golden handcuffs

golden handcuffs

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.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.