Parent Care Leave is a necessary response to an ageing society and a changing workforce
Dr. Ashaq Hussain
In a quiet house on the edge of a fast-growing city, an elderly couple waits for a familiar knock on the door. Their children call them often. The voices are full of love, care, and concern, but the physical presence they long for is missing. Far away, in busy offices and demanding workplaces, those very children sit with heavy hearts. They are torn between job responsibilities and an unspoken promise to look after the parents who once shaped their lives. This is not a rare story; it is the reality of countless families across today.
Today’s social and economic conditions have placed working sons and daughters in a painful situation. Most of them genuinely want to care for their ageing parents and feel morally responsible to do so. However, strict job rules, frequent transfers, long working hours, performance pressure, and the lack of proper leave policies make this extremely difficult. Many are forced to choose work over being present with their parents not because they do not care, but because they have no option. As a result, a silent crisis is growing where elderly parents, despite having loving and responsible children, spend their old age facing loneliness, poor health, and emotional insecurity.
For old parents, the greatest suffering is often emotional rather than physical. It is the pain of handling daily life alone, visiting hospitals without a trusted hand to support them, and celebrating festivals or family occasions in silence. Many parents do not express their needs openly because they do not want to trouble their children, who are already struggling to manage work and family life. On the other hand, the children carry a constant feeling of guilt, knowing that love and good intentions are not enough without time and physical presence.
Over the years, governments and workplaces have slowly started understanding that employee welfare is not limited to salary and office hours alone. Emotional well-being and family responsibilities are also important. The introduction of Child Care Leave (CCL) is a positive step in this direction. It accepts the fact that young children need personal care during important stages of their growth and that such care cannot always be managed by others. This policy is based on compassion and social responsibility and recognises that employees are human beings with family duties.
However, this caring approach seems incomplete when we look at another serious reality, the care of ageing parents. In today’s fast-paced work culture, many elderly parents are left unattended, feel emotionally lonely, or are pushed into old-age homes. This usually happens not because children do not care, but because rigid job systems do not allow them the time or flexibility needed for caregiving. This raises an important question: if workplaces understand the need to care for children, why is the same understanding not shown towards elderly parents?
In the past, Indian society was built around the joint family system, where elders were respected and cared for within the home. Old age was seen as a stage of dignity, not dependency. But with urbanisation, migration, nuclear families, and rising economic pressure, this system has weakened. Many professionals live far away from their parents, and demanding work schedules prevent them from being present during illness or difficult times. While medical science has increased life expectancy, our social systems have failed to ensure quality and dignity in those added years.
The need for Parent Care Leave (PCL) is based on both moral values and practical realities. Old age often brings long-term illness, reduced mobility, and emotional weakness. At this stage, parents need more than medicines or hired helpers. They need love, reassurance, and the presence of their own children. Care is a two-way responsibility. Parents spend their best years raising their children, often sacrificing their own comfort and dreams. Supporting them in old age is not a burden; it is a natural, humane, and ethical duty.
Just like child care, the responsibility of caring for elderly parents mostly falls on women. Daughters and daughters-in-law are often expected to manage jobs along with household and caregiving duties. This affects their careers, health, and mental peace. A formal Parent Care Leave policy would recognise this unseen work, promote shared responsibility, and support gender equality by encouraging men also to take part in caring for parents.
Old-age homes are often shown as practical solutions, but for many parents, they mean emotional loss rather than choice. Even when facilities are good, many residents feel lonely, unwanted, and disconnected from family life. Most parents would prefer to stay with their children if given a chance. Parent Care Leave can provide that chance by allowing families to be together during illness, recovery, or critical stages of old age.
There is a clear similarity between child care and parent care. Both children and elderly parents are vulnerable and dependent, and both need emotional bonding and human presence. Caregiving is not about age; it is about relationships and responsibility. Without Parent Care Leave, employees are forced to choose between career growth and family duty, leading to stress, emotional pain, and burnout. Kind and understanding policies do not harm organisations; instead, they build loyalty, trust, and long-term commitment among employees.
Many countries have already introduced family or caregiver leave policies that include elder care. India, despite its strong cultural values of respecting elders, still lacks a clear system to support working caregivers. Introducing Parent Care Leave would help close the gap between what we value morally and what is practically possible. Such a policy should be flexible, gender-neutral, and inclusive, so that both men and women can share caregiving responsibilities.
As society changes, policies must also change. True progress is not measured only by economic growth or productivity, but by how we treat the most vulnerable among us. Children and the elderly stand at two ends of life, both deserving care, dignity, and attention. Bringing Parent Care Leave alongside Child Care Leave would complete the circle of compassion in the workplace. It would send a strong message that caregiving is not a personal problem, but a shared social responsibility and a true sign of a humane and civilized society.
(The writer is Associate Professor Chemistry at Govt Gandhi Memorial (GGM) Science College, Jammu)
