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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Apparently I type too loudly

186 replies

Tabsicle · 23/03/2017 08:14

So, I work in an office. Normal open plan.

Apparently one of my colleagues has put in a complaint about me. She says I type too loudly. I do, to be fair, type quickly (90 wpm) and that means I tend to bounce around the keyboard rapidly, and other people have said I type as if I'm in a bad mood (I'm not. I just type at thinking speed).

Nothing else - I don't eat at my desk, I don't really talk much, I don't wear heavy perfume. My boss has been very nice about it and said I'm doing nothing wrong but would it be OK to get me a quieter keyboard, and if that doesn't work, colleague will have to live with it.

AIBU in how I type? Is she? This feels really petty and while I know we don't get on (she's been really ratty and competitive with me recently, which I think it because we work in a target based environment and I've had some very good results lately) I'm a bit thrown that she has actually put in a formal complaint. It seems rather weird too. MN jury?

OP posts:
knowler · 23/03/2017 10:08

Just get a quieter keyboard and continue as you are. There's lots of irritations in the workplace and I'd rate crunching crisps at your desk as much more annoying than someone getting on with their work ;)

This reminds me of when I was a trainee solicitor I had to share an office with a partner who wouldn't let me do any typing at all while he was there. I even had to keep mouse clicking to a minimum because it irritated him so much. I was terrified of him but 20 years on, I'd be inclined to tell him to wind his neck in Grin

dudsville · 23/03/2017 10:12

This thread made me laugh. Over the years I've had colleagues who type like they're kick boxing. I never complained, because that wouldn't occur to me, but I'm the one who eats at her desk.

AllWorkedOutOk · 23/03/2017 10:20

OP, Has your colleague actually put in a 'formal' complaint or has she just complained? Iyswim

I find loud typing annoying too. It's just a habit. I used to do, I presume because I was taught using a manual typewriter. I get the fact that the 'bounce' helps you to type faster. It's like your fingers run away with themselves.

stoopido · 23/03/2017 10:26

I used to sit next to the office PA who typed 90wpm really loudly which was made worse by her long fingernails. It was a little distracting at times but I would never have thought to complain about it!!!

iMatter · 23/03/2017 10:28

What are your nails like?

I used to work with someone who had acrylics and the noise was awful. Makes me twitch just thinking about it.

LongDivision · 23/03/2017 10:31

I'm an old gimmer and actually find the sound of typing quite soothing - or, at least, it barely registers with me. But I think there is a proportion of people to whom it is akin to fingernails on a chalkboard. A previous poster mentioned misophonia, which makes sense - a lot of people on this thread are enraged by the sound of typing, or think that it sounds angry! Not sure what can be done, but workplaces should probably be more aware of this problem, as it seems to affect so many people.

foxyloxy78 · 23/03/2017 10:35

I agree with you OP. Your colleague is a dick who is just jealous of your better results. Take the alternative keyboard but if that does not work the colleague will just need to suck it up. Or get her special snowflake ear plugs to pop in when she's not on the phone.

squoosh · 23/03/2017 10:39

People like your colleague who crunch and munch really loudly on apples and crisps are really fucking annoying. Likewise people who bash away on their keyboards are also very fucking annoying.

Sounds like you're made for each other OP.

MrsMozart · 23/03/2017 10:41

Colleague is BU to put in a formal complaint, especially in a competitive environment.

But, the very loud 'sounds angry' typing can be very distracting. The quiet keyboard would seem the best way forward.

Megatherium · 23/03/2017 10:41

I wonder how she'd have coped in the days of manual typewriters or golfball printers. I really don't see how you can force yourself to type more quietly. I just tried pressing more softly on my keyboard, and it makes very little difference to the noise but causes masses of mistakes where I haven't hit hard enough.

I used to have a peculiar problem in open plan offices, in that for some reason I found it particularly irritating and distracting when people muttered into their phones - much more so than when they had a normal conversation. But I realised that it was totally my issue and complaining about it would make me a dickhead, so I didn't.

HopesDaddy · 23/03/2017 10:48

I once had a subordinate who complained about me 'looking at them'.

At this time i wore glasses but not for screen use. If i absentmindedly looked out of my office door at her and couldn't actually see past my nose... let alone check up on her.

FitzChivalry · 23/03/2017 10:50

I used to work with a loud typer. I had to wear earphones to cope. For me, it was like a misophonia trigger-I could not bear it. However, I just had noise cancelling earphones and background music, rather than complain.

Nellooo · 23/03/2017 10:52

Get a Mac keyboard. They are v quiet.

AHedgehogCanNeverBeBuggered · 23/03/2017 11:02

I used to be you, it drove my DH potty! It can be extremely annoying to have to listen to someone banging on a keyboard (all you 'it's pathetic and petty' people have clearly never heard a really loud typist). I re-taught myself to type quietly, at first it slowed me down a lot but I got better quite quickly and can now type extremely quickly and accurately in a quiet and considerate manner.

Your colleague would've perhaps been better to speak to you first, but I don't blame her for being annoyed, I'd hate to have to listen to this day in, day out. Teach yourself to type quietly, it can be done.

SheSaidHeSaid · 23/03/2017 11:36

I worry someone will complain about my typing too as I type fast and relatively loudly but, jheeze, I would never expect a formal complaint! That's overkill.

There probably is something in it but as long as you show you're making an effort to be quieter I don't know what else they expect?

mmgirish · 23/03/2017 11:42

My Dh is a loud typer. It makes me want to scream (I don't....obviously as that would be weird) it can be very annoying OP.

ReggaeShark · 23/03/2017 11:47

Love this thread. Try quieter keyboard and also a mat like a large mouse mat underneath to absorb some of the sound

SuperFlyHigh · 23/03/2017 11:54

I used to work with a loud but fast typer. I'm fairly fast (70wpm) but she wasn't trained (was more a 2 finger type) in typing so did it this was. Eventually she moved upstairs so I zoned it out but it can be distracting. We did have audio tapes too though.

I think using a quieter keyboard but also thinking about slowing down slightly would go some way towards there being a harmonious environment, if this doesn't work, stuff her!

SuperFlyHigh · 23/03/2017 11:55

SheSaid loud typists can be ok but sometimes if someone bashes away coupled with long manicured nails it makes a really unpleasant noise!

CustardShoes · 23/03/2017 11:57

other people have said I type as if I'm in a bad mood

hmmm, this can be very annoying to be honest. I was working away from my office (which is mine & I can close the door) at an archive & the woman next to me was typing very fast & very loudly on a keyboard - it was quite distracting.

I had to consciously 'zone out' her typing noise. I was only there for 6 hours. It must be annoying to others to have that all day, every day.

Surely with keyboards nowadays you don't need a lot of pressure - you really don't need to bang the keys.

paxillin · 23/03/2017 13:58

Well, try the quieter keyboard, but not much you can do. I've had a colleague who threw a tantrum about another colleague clicking too loudly.

AnnPerkins · 23/03/2017 14:10

My boss types loudly too. He's not especially fast, he just really thumps the keyboard with his fingers. I only find it annoying when I'm feeling stressed or grumpy, probably much the same as your colleague. Is your recent success making her feel insecure?

DH also types loudly. When he's working from home in the spare bedroom he sounds like he's coming through the ceiling. I don't say anything, though, I save my ire for when he starts crunching crisps Angry

I'm a fast typist who also learned on a manual typewriter. But I'm not loud. I mostly put numbers in spreadsheets so I don't get to type enough at any one time to get into a flow.

CrikeyPeg · 23/03/2017 23:53

SuperFlyHigh I don't get why OP think about slowing down her typing?

It seems a petty complaint to me, but it obviously seems to be annoying to some people. I'm a speedy typist at around 100 wpm, and also, now that I think about it, a loud typist because the keyboards I prefer are the old more solid ones. Lucky I work by/for myself :)

frankie001 · 24/03/2017 04:14

Anyone else have the Murder She Wrote theme in their heads now? No? Just me then.

SwearySwearyQuiteContrary · 24/03/2017 04:21

Try a mat underneath the keyboard. Quite a bit of the noise is likely to be the keyboard bouncing on a hard desk if you're typing forcefully. If you do that as well as trying to find a quieter keyboard, your colleague can't really ask for much more. You could suggest that she tries noise cancelling headphones.

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