Did you know there’s a version of “golden handcuffs” in the public sector?
We usually link that phrase with high-paying private sector industries because of their big salaries and bonus packages that make leaving hard to imagine.
The public sector has its own version.
The salary may not always match the private sector – but at least it’s stable.
Your income arrives without you having to chase it down. Benefits are predictable. And in many countries, there’s still a pension waiting at the end.
So when public sector leaders come to me thinking about a move, the first thing they say is that they are scared of losing the financial security they have now.
And I get it. That security has real value. Especially in a competitive labour market. And with the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) threatening to replace jobs.
Yet many of the same people tell me they can’t imagine staying where they are for much longer.
They’re longing for more autonomy, more flexibility, more creativity.
Less bureaucracy, process and politics.
More alignment with what they care about, and who they’ve become.
That tension can keep them stuck for years.
So today, I’m going to look at what sits behind it: the top three fears that show up once the money question is on the table.
A Reality Check on Security
First, a word about that financial security, because it’s worth looking at the assumptions made.
Because – even in the public sector – job security is not a given and benefits aren’t carved in stone.
With ageing populations, budget pressures and shifting political priorities, more and more governments are:
- reducing headcount by not replacing staff when someone leaves or retires
- rethinking how services are delivered, including using AI, organisational restructures and staff layoffs
- encouraging their employees to build a personal retirement plan as another pillar.
So it’s worth finding out the facts for your situation in your country, so your decisions are based on reality rather than assumptions.
Often, the fear of losing financial security is about wanting safety and certainty.
That’s completely understandable. And those needs can be built into your career change plan from the start. That’s what I work on with my clients in my private, one-on-one Find Your Career Space programme.
There are other fears showing up for public sector leaders considering career change.
The Top three fears about Leaving the Public Sector
Fear #1: “Will I Fit Into a Different Organisational Culture?”
The culture in the public sector has shaped how you work. Consultation, evidence, due process, risk assessments, accountability. After fifteen or twenty years, it’s simply how you think.
So the idea of moving into a faster, flatter, more informal organisation can feel unsettling. You wonder whether you’ll seem slow, or too cautious, or too formal.
A policy leader I talked to recently worried about exactly that. She’d spent almost two decades in government and was convinced she’d come across as the person who wants a three-month consultation before anyone moves.
Then she started having conversations with people inside the organisations she was curious about. She discovered that her rigour, her stakeholder skills and her ability to bring people along were precisely what those teams could benefit from.
And here’s the thing about culture fit. It goes both ways. You’re assessing them just as much as they’re assessing you.
So talk to people who work in the organisations you’re curious about and ask them:
- How do decisions actually get made?
- What does a good week look like?
You’ll learn far more from those conversations than from a job description. And, you’ll build relationships and a network as you do so.
Fear #2: “What Will Happen to What I’ve Built Up?”
This one is about legacy, and it’s deeply felt.
You may have spent years building a team, a programme, a set of relationships – and a reputation. Walking away can feel like leaving it unfinished, or letting it fall apart.
The leaders I spoke with was a director who had spent over a decade growing a programme from a small pilot into something that reached thousands of people. She couldn’t picture leaving because she was worried what would happen to it when she left.
As we talked, she began to separate two things: the programme itself, and the impact it had.
The programme would continue under someone else’s care. The impact lived on in the people she’d mentored, the ways of working she’d embedded, and the skills she’d carry into whatever came next.
That shift changed the question for her. It stopped being “what happens if I leave?” and became “what do I want my legacy to be from here, and where can I build it?” It became forward looking. Future focused.
A strong handover, a capable team and ideas that outlast you ARE legacy too. The impact you were capable of creating can travel with you to where you focus your attention next.
Fear #3: “Who Will I Be Without My Title, My Role, the Public Service Mission?”
This is about identity, which often sits underneath all the rest.
Your job title does A LOT of work. It brings status, purpose and belonging.
For the leaders I speak with, the idea of not having an answer when being asked “so what you do?” makes them feel pretty uncomfortable.
When we start digging beneath the title, something interesting emerges.
What they describe is rarely the role itself. It’s the way they solve problems. The values they bring to how they solve those problems. Their curiosity that has driven their best work. Or the way they communicate to help others make sense of complexity.
Those things belong to you. They go wherever you go. They are part of who you are. And they are valued elsewhere. Especially in the age of AI, where good judgement is increasingly valued.
A job title is a label for what you do in one place. Your identity is much bigger than that.
The Ripple Effect of Being Driven by Fear
Yes, I know, the unknown can be scary.
But staying where you are out of fear can slowly drain your energy, your sense of purpose – and your sense of self. And that has a ripple effect on your wellbeing and on the people around you.
The question is:
What do you want the driver of your decision to be?
You don’t have to give up everything you value. You can keep the parts of your work and life that matter most AND create space for something new.
This is exactly the kind of work I do with my clients in my 5-month Find Your Career Space programme.
We unpack all kinds of fears about career change, from culture fit to legacy to identity and purpose, and we build a plan that balances security with possibility in a way that’s right for you.
You can find out more on the Work with Yvonne page on my website, at SpaceToShiftYourCareer.com. The link is in the show notes.
Until next time: make space, rediscover you, and then take action.