Mr Jeggan Rajendram, 41, left his career in major tech firms Google and Meta to become a full-time stay-at-home father starting January 2026. He is now focusing on parenting his daughters aged 2 and 4 at home in Singapore [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
Rajendram decided to make the shift after realizing he was missing key moments in his children’s early years despite a well-paid and successful career. "I was good at my job, but it got to a point where I was questioning what I was doing it for. While it paid me well, it took up most of my time and my headspace. During this time, my kids are growing up. I felt like I was missing (out)," he said. He also reflected, "I felt like I needed to be more intentional about how I was spending my time and get off autopilot" [1].
His wife, Sumyutha Sivamani, 37, a practising lawyer, supported his choice after eight months of discussions, despite concerns around income changes and altered family roles. She said, "I don’t want to paint a very unrealistic picture of (how) there were zero concerns... I was very supportive but we talked a lot about the pros and cons. Having gone through that entire exercise, I felt like it was the right thing for him to do as well" [1].
The decision highlights changing family dynamics as Singapore men increasingly step out of the labour force for childcare. The Ministry of Manpower reported that 7.4% of resident men were projected to be out of work for childcare reasons in 2025, up from 3.5% in 2022 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
Rajendram plans to eventually return to work but acknowledges concerns ahead. The shift challenges traditional gender roles and aims to benefit their children’s upbringing [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
