Employees have a dilemma with `golden handcuffs`

(Dan Tri) – High-paying jobs in large corporations are often desirable, even though they come with a high price in terms of personal life.

`Golden handcuffs` refer to jobs that promise high salaries and high incentives, but come at the cost of hard, sometimes boring work weeks and a toxic office culture (Photo: BBC)

Lewis – a new consultant in Berlin – understands that a stressful job is something he must accept if he wants to quickly get a salary of 150,000 euros at one of the most prestigious companies in the world.

`You have to be willing to be chained to your desk. You accept those conditions to get a high salary – it is what it is. If you don’t work 12 hours straight, you’re told ‘you’re paid well so

Lewis is one of the people who accepts the `golden handcuffs` – the type of job that promises a large salary and attractive benefits, but at the cost of hard, sometimes boring work weeks.

While some people can let go of their `golden handcuffs` to find a healthy work-life balance, others find it nearly impossible to break free.

`Golden handcuffs` are a long-standing practice of employers, said Rubab Jafry O’Connor, Professor of Management at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business in Pittsburgh (USA).

`For as long as organizations have existed, there have been companies that pay high salaries to retain the best employees,` said Professor Jafry O’Connor.

The term first appeared in 1976, heralding the era when the salaries of Wall Street bankers began to exceed those of the average private-sector worker by many times.

For employers, `golden handcuffs` are not only a tool to retain employees but also a way to ensure workers give their best, said Ms. Jafry O’Connor.

`With a higher salary comes higher expectations: You’re paid to put more time and energy into your work,` she points out.

In exchange for high salaries, workers often have to pay a high price for quality of life, especially lower-level employees.

`Bosses often try to close projects to get bonuses and they often make promises in the clouds, like a 3-month project will be completed in 3 weeks. Meanwhile, it is the subordinates who work directly, forcing them to work hard.`

The higher the position, the sweeter the income becomes, but the tighter the `golden handcuffs` become.

`The bonus packages are unbelievably high,` said Ryan Renteria, author of the book `Lead Without Burnout` and a former boss at a Wall Street hedge fund when he quit his job at the age of 30.

But in the end, Renteria burned out and quit because of the work’s impact on his mental and physical health.

Difficulty withdrawing hand

But even when dissatisfied, workers often find it difficult to remove their hands from the `golden handcuffs`.

Lucy Maeve Puttergill said that from her first year working at Canary Wharf in London, she realized she was not suited to the banking industry.

`I was enticed because of my name, because I thought my job made others impressed about me. Because I was so familiar with the salary people earn in the banking industry, I considered it `normal` and thought I was

Ms. Puttergill points out that `golden handcuffs` are difficult to give up not only because of the salary but also because of the lifestyle it can bring.

`People with high-paying jobs often have high spending levels, proportional to work intensity. I spent a lot on self-comforting expenses, like buying clothes to make myself feel better.`

Ms. Puttergill – currently a life coach – believes that people are increasingly paying attention and discussing the cost of `golden handcuffs`.