Parents may continue supporting their children well beyond eighteen years. A 40-year-old woman from China left her job to become employed by her own parents.
After 15 years of being employed by a news agency, Nianan quit her job. The workplace stress was affecting her well-being and she had to be on-call virtually 24 hours a day.
Fortunately, her parents had an alternative plan with a more fulfilling job offer. “Why don’t you just quit your job? We’ll take care of you financially,” the woman’s parents said. They were willing to pay her $570 per month if she moved back in with them.
So in other words, she gets paid to live under their roof and avoids housing expenses. Nianan doesn’t need to buy food or things for home since her parents also have that covered.
She has completed a year under her parent’s employment and she describes her role as “filled with love.” She goes grocery shopping with her parents, cooks dinner with them and drives them for their errands. On top of the usual chores, she gets paid to dance for an hour with them.
Since her parents aren’t tech-savvy, Nianan looks after the electronics in the house. She is also responsible for planning the family getaways every month.
She has no complaints but Nianan also feels a strong urge to increase her salary. Her parents are supportive of her plans and want her to do what she feels is best.
“If you find a more suitable job, you can go for it,” Nianan’s parents said. “If you don’t want to work, just stay at home and spend time with us.”
Her salary comes out of her parents’ monthly pension of around $15,000.
Her unconventional employment sparked controversy among people; there was a divided response, some people felt she was scamming the old folks, while others believe it to be simply business.
“Clearly, it is simply relying on one’s parents, known as ken lao in Chinese, which translates into ‘eat the old,’ yet they insist on labeling it as being a ‘full-time daughter,'” one person commented.
“If both the parents and their children are genuinely happy, why not embrace it? In the future, the young labor force will hold a higher value. If some people consider it ken lao, or relying on parents, then why not exchange children for taking care of the elderly in each others’ families?” another wrote.
It could be a win-win situation; the parents love their daughter, and she loves the money.