Dad of 5's work-from-home poster for his kids goes viral on LinkedIn
"We are all in this together."
A father of five who shared a poster he made for his kids while he works remotely is getting attention from millions of LinkedIn users.
David Kuhl of Naples, Florida, posted an image of the sign last week after his company requested for staff to share something related to working amid the pandemic as part of a Halloween contest.
Kuhl told "Good Morning America" that he decided to make poster and hang it on his office door as a message to his kids. He then shared it with colleagues on a company-wide Zoom call.
"I'm adjusting, balancing kids and working from home. It has been comical at it's best," Kuhl said. "People laughed and thought it was kind of creative and then I decided to post it on LinkedIn."
Kuhl said he's been working from home since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and recently landed a new role as general manager at Salo, LLC.
Kuhl has been a human resources leader for more than 20 years and is quite active on LinkedIn. He said his posts typically garner thousands of views, though he never expected his poster to receive viral attention.
"I posted it last Friday around lunchtime ... by the time I woke up, there were half a million views," Kuhl added.
On his poster, Kuhl wrote a message to his children regarding rules for when "Dad's in a meeting." It reads, "Do not enter (o lose screen time for 2 days!) Answers to your questions: 'No.' 'Unless you are bleeding it's fine.' 'Pieces of fruit.' 'In the wash.' 'Ask Mom!'"
Many praised Kuhl for his creative humor. There were the occasional trolls, he said -- some who criticized his writing "Ask Mom!" on the poster.
"My wife and I kind of joke around with our kids and say, 'Hey, ask Mom [or] ask Dad,'" Kuhl said," adding that his wife also works from home and they share the parenting load. "People took that as a gender slight ... the reality is, we [both] stay at home and when I have a meeting, that's protocol."
Kuhl's post also sparked a debate in the comments section about work-from-home interruptions and parenting. Some even made their own signs after being inspired by Kuhl's post.
"There's a lot of emotions related to this work-from-home issue," Kuhl said. "We are all in this together and figuring out is the fun part. I think it's enabling a whole different lifestyle, once you can figure it out and navigate it."
Despite what his sign says, Kuhl admits he's enjoying this "new world" where his kids pop in his office from time to time.