Wikipedia defines golden handcuffs as "a system of financial incentives designed to keep an employee from leaving the company." or better yet: "the term can also refer to any kind of situation in which a generous salary is used to keep an important employee from looking for a more desirable but less certain position."
I've been hearing this term a lot lately. Now, I work for a large corporate employer, and yes the financial security is very nice. It is why I am able to support my family and we are able to have the nice things that we have. But lately, because I've been hearing this phrase so frequently, it's got me wondering about the state of the US and the happiness of our nation. Are we all bound by golden handcuffs of some sort? Maybe not in the literal sense that Wikipedia provides, but by something that doesn't allow us to seek out a more desirable alternative?
I think about housewives of the fifties. Society was their golden handcuffs - if they were in an abusive or empty relationship, they had to stay put. They felt like they had no options. Flash forward to the working mothers of the late eighties and early nineties. They needed to prove they could do it all. So, their golden handcuffs were the facade of having the job and making sure they created a great home life. Look at celebrities who just try to get away, but because they opened their life to the paps, we feel entitled to know every detail of their life ... even when they need to take a break.
In some way, I think we all have our own golden handcuffs. Now ... if only we could all find the universal key and release ourselves. Then perhaps we wouldn't be a nation that is overweight, drowning ourselves in antidepressants, alcohol, drugs and irresponsibility. There's a lot of talk about greenwashing by companies that are trying to latch onto the sustainability movement, but perhaps we should talk about goldwashing -- the fear to take a leap because your bound by something ... be it job, relationship, or society.
If you find the key ... pass it on.
I've been hearing this term a lot lately. Now, I work for a large corporate employer, and yes the financial security is very nice. It is why I am able to support my family and we are able to have the nice things that we have. But lately, because I've been hearing this phrase so frequently, it's got me wondering about the state of the US and the happiness of our nation. Are we all bound by golden handcuffs of some sort? Maybe not in the literal sense that Wikipedia provides, but by something that doesn't allow us to seek out a more desirable alternative?
I think about housewives of the fifties. Society was their golden handcuffs - if they were in an abusive or empty relationship, they had to stay put. They felt like they had no options. Flash forward to the working mothers of the late eighties and early nineties. They needed to prove they could do it all. So, their golden handcuffs were the facade of having the job and making sure they created a great home life. Look at celebrities who just try to get away, but because they opened their life to the paps, we feel entitled to know every detail of their life ... even when they need to take a break.
In some way, I think we all have our own golden handcuffs. Now ... if only we could all find the universal key and release ourselves. Then perhaps we wouldn't be a nation that is overweight, drowning ourselves in antidepressants, alcohol, drugs and irresponsibility. There's a lot of talk about greenwashing by companies that are trying to latch onto the sustainability movement, but perhaps we should talk about goldwashing -- the fear to take a leap because your bound by something ... be it job, relationship, or society.
If you find the key ... pass it on.
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