Should you quit your job to care for a parent? There is no single right answer for every family, but there is a way of thinking that helps you avoid regret: add up four costs before you hand in your resignation. They are the income you lose, the benefits and savings you lose, how hard it will be to return to work, and the care costs you will still pay even if you are at home. Then compare them with hiring a caregiver only for the hours you cannot cover. Many families find a middle path that gives their parent good care without giving up work, while some find that stepping away for a period really is the right answer.
Your mother came home from hospital three days ago. Your annual leave is used up, and your manager has just messaged: "When are you coming back?" That night you sit by her bed with one sentence going round in your head: "Should I just quit?" On one side is guilt about leaving her with someone else; on the other, fear about how long your savings will last. Both feelings are valid, and both deserve an answer worked out calmly with numbers, not decided on the exhaustion of one night.
Quick answer
- Do not decide to quit during the crisis right after a hospital discharge. Use the first 30 days to gather information.
- Answer five questions on paper first, especially "how many hours a day does my parent need someone?" and "for how long?"
- Quitting has four costs, not just your salary, and it does not bring care costs down to zero.
- If the monthly cost of quitting is higher than paying a caregiver just for the shifts you cannot cover, keeping your job and hiring help usually makes more financial sense.
- Middle paths include negotiating your hours, hiring for specific shifts, sharing time and money among siblings, and using single-task services.
- If you do quit, plan your days off, your backup and your route back to work from day one.
1. Five questions before you quit your job to care for a parent
Write down your answers to these five questions before resigning. If you cannot answer two or more, you do not yet have enough information for a permanent decision.
- How many hours a day does your parent need someone, and when? Daytime only, night-time only or around the clock, and does someone need to be awake at night?
- How long is this likely to last? Is there an end date, such as recovery after surgery, or is it open-ended? Ask the doctor directly how long your parent is likely to need this level of help.
- Which tasks truly have to be you? A trained person can help with bathing, feeding or walking. But nobody else can be there for your parent as their child, make the important decisions, or give the warmth that only you can.
- If you quit, how many months can the family manage without this income? And what happens if the situation lasts longer than that?
- If you want to return to work one day, how easy will it be in your field and at this stage of your career?
Question 3 often changes people's minds the most. It shows that what you really want to give your parent may not require giving up your whole job. Physical care can be handed to professionals; the time you spend as their son or daughter stays with you.
2. The four costs to add up before you quit
The cost of quitting is more than your lost salary. Add up all four costs and convert each to a monthly figure, so you can compare them directly with the cost of a caregiver.
Cost 1: Lost income (call it A)
Your after-tax salary plus bonuses, overtime and any extra income from this job, averaged per month. Many people count only the salary, which makes this number lower than reality.
Cost 2: Lost benefits and savings (call it B)
Employer contributions such as a provident fund, group health insurance you would have to buy yourself, and social security entitlements that may change after you resign. Everyone's entitlements are different, so check yours with your HR department and the social security office before resigning, then estimate the monthly value.
Cost 3: The cost of returning to work (call it C)
A gap in your CV, skills that may fall behind, and a salary on return that may not match your current one. You cannot put an exact number on this, but ask yourself honestly: if I stop for one year, or three, can I get back to the same level?
Cost 4: Care costs you will pay anyway (call it D)
Quitting does not bring care costs to zero. There are still adult diapers, equipment, trips to hospital, physiotherapy, and paying someone to help on days when you are ill, busy or badly need a rest. This cost exists whether you work or not, so it should not be counted as money "saved" by quitting.
What many families don't realise: quitting gives the household one carer but no backup. On the day you are unwell or exhausted, the family still has to find someone to step in.
3. A worked example: quitting versus keeping your job and hiring care for the missing shifts
Put your own numbers in place of the letters. If A + B is higher than the cost of a caregiver for the hours you are away, keeping your job and hiring help leaves the family better off, but the numbers are only half of the decision.
The four-line formula
- Monthly cost of quitting = A (net monthly income) + B (monthly benefits and savings)
- Cost of a caregiver just for the hours you are at work = E
- Monthly difference = (A + B) − E
- If the difference is positive, working keeps that amount in the family every month, before even counting cost C
Case A: Your parent needs someone only during the day
This example uses KIN HomeCare's price for a 12-hour day-shift caregiver: 30,000 baht a month (the caregiver has 1 day off a week). So E = 30,000 and the difference = A + B − 30,000. If A + B is more than 30,000 baht, the family is better off every month, and you still care for your parent yourself in the evenings, at night and at weekends. If A + B is less, quitting may make more financial sense, but weigh cost C as well.
Case B: Your parent needs someone around the clock but sleeps at night
A 24-hour live-in caregiver costs 36,000 baht a month, and the caregiver rests when your parent rests, so E = 36,000. If someone must be awake all night, you need two 12-hour caregivers, so the cost is double the 12-hour rate. Some families have the son or daughter cover nights and hire only for the day. That can work, but getting up every night and still going to work is hard to sustain; you will need someone to share the night shifts.
Case C: A short period with a clear end
For example, a recovery period the doctor expects to be short. Use your leave or ask for partial leave, and hire a caregiver by the week (12-hour shift, 12,000 baht a week) only for the weeks you have to be back at work. Here, quitting is usually too high a price for a problem that has an end date.
What the formula leaves out
Cost C, your own exhaustion, family relationships and your parent's happiness. Once you have the numbers, weigh these yourself. The examples in this section use variables to help you think; they are not financial or legal advice.
4. When quitting to care for a parent makes sense
Quitting or taking a long break is clearly reasonable in some situations: at the end of life, for a short period when your employer will not grant leave, or when A + B is close to or lower than the cost of a caregiver anyway. Just as important is when you want to do it and are genuinely ready.
- End of life The time you have left together is worth more than money. Even if you quit, have help for some shifts so you can rest, and if your parent needs specific nursing care, let a registered nurse handle that part.
- A short period without leave If your employer will not allow leave and the care period has a clear end, resigning and finding a new job later may suit you, if your field is easy to return to.
- Income close to or below the cost of care If A + B is close to or below E, quitting does not cost the family more.
- You want to, and you are ready You have enough savings, another source of income, and you know you want to be with your parent during this time. Nobody has the right to judge that choice. Just plan your days off and your own well-being too, as in section 7.
5. Middle paths that keep your job
Before quitting, try negotiating your work and arranging help only for the hours you cannot cover. Many families manage well by combining two or three of the options below.
Negotiate with your employer, with a review date
Ask for reduced hours, working from home some days, leave for a set period, or a move to a more flexible role. If you present it as a plan with a review date, your employer can say yes more easily than to an open-ended request. For example:
"I'd like to keep working here. For the next two months my mother is recovering after coming out of hospital. I'd like to propose working from home two days a week, with every deliverable on its usual deadline, and a review with you at the end of the two months."
Hire for the missing shifts only
- Day shift, 08:00–20:00 Matches your working hours, 1,800 baht a day
- Night shift, 20:00–08:00 The same price, so you sleep through the night and can manage work
- Daily hire has a 3-day minimum. If you need daytime help only on certain days of the week, Day Care at a centre has no minimum. All daytime options, by budget, are in elderly parents home alone during the day, and if you are weighing day shifts against live-in care, read daily home care: day shift or live-in
Share the load among siblings, in time and money
A written rota helps a great deal; see how in caregiver burnout: the signs and what to do. But siblings who live far away or have no time can still help with money. Hold one family meeting that settles five things:
- What your parent needs (use your answers to questions 1–3)
- How much time each person can give
- How much each person contributes, in a proportion that is fair to their income
- Who decides what
- When you will review it
If one sibling quits to care full-time, the others contributing a "care allowance" to that sibling is fair and worth discussing, because that person is carrying costs A + B + C for the whole family.
Use single-task services instead of taking whole days off
- Doctor's appointments Hospital escort costs 1,800 baht for 8 hours: pick-up at home, company throughout and the trip back (transport charged separately). See hospital escort service
- Home physiotherapy 1,800 baht a session, first session 1,500 baht until 31 December 2026, so you do not need time off to take your parent to a clinic
6. The first 30 days after a hospital discharge: gather information before deciding for good
The first weeks after a hospital stay are usually the hardest and change the fastest, so they are the wrong time to make a permanent career decision. Plan 30 days to gather real information first, then decide.
- Week 1 Use your leave to be with your parent. Learn the care tasks from the hospital team before discharge, and write down each day what help your parent needs, when and for how many hours
- Week 2 Have a caregiver start on a short-term basis, for example hired by the week (12,000 baht a week for 12-hour shifts, or 16,000 baht a week for 24-hour live-in care), while you are still at home to teach them your parent's routine
- Week 3 Go back to work on some days and see whether the arrangement works when you are away
- Week 4 Hold a family meeting with real information: the hours of care needed, the actual costs and how you are coping. Then choose between keeping your job with extra help, reducing your hours, or quitting
Some things that look impossible in week one may settle by week three or four, and some things you thought you could manage may only then prove too much. Thirty days of real information is more reliable than how you felt on the first night.
7. The emotional load of full-time caring that numbers don't show
People who quit to care full-time are often worn down more by having no days off and no world of their own than by the care itself. If you choose to quit, plan rest days, a backup and your route back to work from day one.
- A weekly day off For example, your parent goes to Day Care at a centre one day a week (no minimum), or a sibling takes one day. That day must truly be yours
- Longer breaks from time to time Hire a caregiver for a short stretch (the daily minimum is 3 days) so you can rest or deal with your own affairs
- Stay connected to work Take small freelance jobs, do online courses or keep in touch with people in your field, so your CV has no long gap
- Your own finances Keep your personal money separate from your parent's care money, and keep saving, even a little
- Being their child When you are the carer all day, it is easy to lose time simply being their son or daughter. Keep moments to talk, watch TV or eat together without any care tasks in between
If you are becoming irritable, sleeping badly, or feeling guilty every time you want a break, that is a sign you need more help, not a sign you are not good enough.
Common mistakes families make
- Quitting in the first week after a hospital discharge You decide based on the hardest period, which may not reflect the long term. Fix: use the 30-day plan before deciding for good.
- Counting only your salary Forgetting costs B and C makes quitting look cheaper than it is. Fix: add up all four costs per month.
- Assuming care costs drop to zero once you quit You still pay cost D and for cover when you are ill. Fix: budget for cost D from the start.
- One person carrying everything because nobody talked openly with the siblings. Fix: hold the five-point family meeting and be clear about money.
- No review date A temporary arrangement becomes permanent without anyone deciding it. Fix: set a review every 3 months.
- Not asking your parent Some parents do not want their child to give up work for them and feel guilty every day they see you at home. Fix: ask how they feel before you decide.
When to bring in a professional team
When your parent needs more care than you can give without giving up your job or your own health, for example someone around the clock, weeks of broken sleep, or a date you must return to work, professional caregivers can fill just the gaps. Not every family needs full-time care.
- 12-hour caregiver (day 08:00–20:00 or night 20:00–08:00) 1,800 baht a day, 12,000 baht a week, 30,000 baht a month (1 day off a week), or 36,000 baht a month with no days off
- 24-hour live-in caregiver 2,500 baht a day, 16,000 baht a week, 36,000 baht a month, or 41,000 baht a month with no days off. The caregiver rests when your parent rests, the family provides a place for the caregiver to sleep, and the caregiver's meals are included in the price
- Specially trained care tasks such as suctioning, tracheostomy care, insulin injections or simple shallow wound care are done by caregivers trained for that task, under the supervision of our registered-nurse team, at the standard caregiver rate
- Nursing procedures such as changing a feeding tube or urinary catheter are done by a registered nurse: 3,500 baht a day for a 12-hour shift, or from 1,200 baht per procedure
- Try a short period before committing to a monthly arrangement Weekly hire at the rates above fits week 2 of the 30-day plan
- Daily hire has a 3-day minimum and a 2,000 baht deposit (a recruitment fee, so it is not refunded on cancellation). Travel costs depend on the area, and our staff will tell you before the booking is confirmed
See all prices on our pricing page, and what caregivers do on the home care for older adults page.
Frequently asked questions
Should I quit my job to take care of my parents?
It depends on the four costs and how long your parent will need care. If the period is short with a clear end but your employer will not grant leave, or your income is lower than the cost of a caregiver, quitting may suit you. If it is open-ended and your income is higher than the cost of a caregiver, keeping your job and hiring help is usually more sustainable.
Should I care for my parents or keep working? How do I choose?
You do not have to choose one or the other. Many families take a middle path, such as working from home some days, hiring a caregiver only for the missing shifts, and having siblings contribute. Start with the five questions, then run the formula in this article.
How much does a caregiver for an elderly parent cost per month?
30,000 baht a month for a 12-hour caregiver at KIN HomeCare (1 day off a week), and 36,000 baht a month for a 24-hour live-in caregiver. The monthly rates with no days off (care every day) are 36,000 baht and 41,000 baht respectively, plus area-based travel costs.
If I quit to care for my mother, will I keep my social security benefits?
It depends on your individual entitlements and conditions. Before resigning, ask the social security office or your HR department how your entitlements will change and what options you have, then include the result in cost B.
Can I work from home and care for my parent at the same time?
Yes, if your parent is fairly independent and does not need help often. But if they need someone to help them to the toilet or stay close all day, both your work and their care will suffer. Hire a day-shift caregiver during your busiest periods, or send your parent to Day Care on some days.
One sibling quit to care for our parents. Should the rest of us help pay?
Talk about it openly. The sibling who quit is carrying lost income, lost benefits and the risk of a harder return to work on behalf of the whole family. Agreeing a "care allowance" in proportion to each sibling's income keeps the load fair and the relationship intact.
Talk to the KIN HomeCare team
Whether you choose to quit, keep working or find a middle path, we respect your decision, and we want it to be an informed one. If you would like to know which shifts your parent really needs and what the costs would be, tell our team about your situation. We will help you work it out around your family's real life, so your parent gets good care and you still have a life of your own.
- Call 061-881-9399 (+66 61 881 9399)
- LINE @KINHOMECARE
- Free consultation: our team helps you work out what kind of care your parent needs and which shifts to hire
- See caregiver profiles before you decide, choose the caregiver's gender, and care normally starts within 2–3 days
This information is general guidance for families and does not replace advice from your parent's doctor.
Prepared by the KIN HomeCare team · Prices as of September 2026; please confirm with our staff before booking.
