Golden handcuffs statistics: what people say keeps them in their jobs
This page publishes once at least 30 people have completed the Golden Handcuffs Test in the current window. Until then the count is shown as below the reporting floor and no figures are published.
Once a cut reaches 30 completions, it shows how completions split across the four readings (Free to Choose, Paid to Stay, Waiting for a Reason, Afraid to Leave), the mean on each dimension, and the same split for respondents who manage people. The line it exists to publish, once the sample is credible, is the share whose tightest hold is fear and options rather than money. No income, salary or savings figure is collected, so none will ever appear here.
Current edition
Fewer than 30 completions in this cut. Nothing is published below that floor. Next refresh: 2026-10-12.
Collection started on 2026-09-22. This page is rewritten when a refresh runs; the change log below carries every edition.
What this page will report
So that no cut is chosen after seeing the data, here is what is published when n reaches 30, and nothing else:
- Reading distribution
- Mean score per dimension, 0 to 100
- Reading by role level
The floor rule
No cut is published with fewer than 30 completions. Where a cut falls below the floor, the chapter is published with the count and no figures. The floor is set before the edition and never lowered. Completions are counted, not people: the capture is anonymous and cookieless, so a returning visitor is not identifiable and is not de-duplicated. Ad blockers drop some events, so every count is a floor. The full rules are on the methodology page.
What this page will never publish
- Any income, salary, savings or net worth figure. None is collected.
- Any share of respondents who say they are leaving or would quit. The founder question only decides which next step is shown first.
- Any cut that names or could identify an employer.
- Any cut below 30 completions, or any cut that still contains the site's own test runs.
How to read it against other surveys
Two outside figures frame this page, and both are about the people who leave rather than the people who stay. In Gallup research reported in July 2024, 42 percent of people who left a job voluntarily said their exit was preventable (Fortune on Gallup).
And stated intent to leave is too volatile to publish: in one survey series, the share saying they would quit over a return to office mandate fell from 51 percent to 7 percent within a year (HR Dive). That is why this page reports what holds people, which moves slowly, and never whether they say they will go.
How to cite this page
Leaders ADAPT, Golden handcuffs statistics: what people say keeps them in their jobs, Workplace Reality Index, edition 2026-09-23, https://www.leadersadapt.com/golden-handcuffs-statistics/. Until a cut passes the floor there is no figure to cite; cite the method instead. Every published figure will carry its n, its window and its date on the same line.
Change log
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 2026-09-22 | Page created with the tool. Collection begins. No figures published; n below floor. |
Take the tool
Every completion of the Golden Handcuffs Test: is it the money, or the fear joins this sample anonymously. More free tools are at the tools shelf.
The four results
Every completed run lands on one of these pages, with your own scores drawn from the link the tool gives you. Each one is readable without taking the tool.
- Free to ChooseNothing holds you tight. Staying or going is a real choice.
- Paid to StayThe number holds you most. Decide what it is buying you.
- Waiting for a ReasonThe work stopped mattering. You are staying without a reason.
- Afraid to LeaveFear and thin options hold you most. Measure them before deciding.
The other statistics pages
Every open tool on this site publishes its own statistics page under the same floor rule:
- AI job exposure statistics: how exposed people say their weekly tasks are
- Am I the problem at work? Statistics on self view and how others see you
- Boss pattern statistics: what people report about their bosses
- Job security statistics: the signals people report around their jobs
- Micromanaging statistics: how closely people say they are managed, and whether they know why
- Promotion block statistics: what stands between people and the next role
- Become a manager statistics: who wants the work, and who wants the title
- Should I quit statistics: what people asking are really leaving
- Toxic workplace statistics: four conditions at work, with the manager view first