Paternity Leave: Keterlibatan Ayah dalam Pengasuhan Anak, Mungkinkah?

Abstract

Caring for a newborn child is traditionally seen as a mother's responsibility rather than a father's. This leads to disharmony within the family, including increased stress for the mother, suboptimal child growth and development, and reduced productivity for the father at work. The lack of support from the workplace places working fathers in a dilemma. This research aims to analyze the regulations regarding paternity leave to support their wives after childbirth and to understand the role of husbands in assisting their newly postpartum wives. Data were collected through direct and indirect observations, interviews, and relevant document collection. The research findings indicate that the existing regulations in Indonesia only provide a few days of paternity leave for husbands to support their wives after childbirth. Despite the existence of these regulations, some individuals do not take paternity leave due to their lack of awareness about the regulations, the lack of permission from their superiors, concerns about reduced income, or reluctance to engage in child-rearing. This ultimately results in suboptimal involvement of husbands in childcare. Furthermore, the existing regulations are limited to formal sector workers, with no regulations governing paternity leave for those in the informal sector.