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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to dislike sharing pens at work

32 replies

Sleepyslops · 14/07/2018 09:29

I work in an office and when people come in to see me and ask to borrow a pen to jot something down I always give them a pen I don't normally use. I hate sharing my "normal" pens and having others touch them with god knows what germs on their hands.

DH thinks I'm loony.

AIBU? OR AM I NOT ALONE IN THIS?

OP posts:
UpstartCrow · 14/07/2018 09:31

You Are Not Alone
and its not you, its them. Pens are precious.

LaMainDeFatima · 14/07/2018 09:31

They would be the same germs that are on the door handles etc

Are you oCD about anything else ?

387I2 · 14/07/2018 09:31

It's really much worse to touch a door handle at the office. But don't think about that now.

FatCow2018 · 14/07/2018 09:32

Are you oCD about anything else ?

Don't say this, OCD is about so much more than worrying about germs.

Marryoneorbecomeone · 14/07/2018 09:33

Is your name Pauline?

CaramelWafers · 14/07/2018 09:34

YABU about the germs, but not the pens. Pens are indeed precious and must be guarded from theft...

My solution is to use only a fountain pen. Many people can't write with them and will back away when offered one. They don't tend to ask again

DaphneDiligaf · 14/07/2018 09:34

Unless they are your personal property they are not "your" pens they ate office equipment.

LadyFidgetAndHerHandbag · 14/07/2018 09:35

Are you oCD about anything else?

OCD isn't about disliking germs.

spudlet7 · 14/07/2018 09:35

For some people it is. For others, worrying about germs is exactly what it centres around. That said, it's not clear whether this is a compulsion of OP's (accompanied by others) that affects her life, or just a little 'quirk' that she thinks little of. There would lie the difference.

UpstartCrow · 14/07/2018 09:37

Are we not all Pauline?

goo.gl/images/9dkGpr

LongSummerDays · 14/07/2018 09:37

Having worked in a government department where the public came in and needed pens, and seeing what they did with said pens they held for maybe 30 seconds (ears, hair, crotch, mouth 🤢) I never lent a pen to anyone, ever. My own pen I held onto and locked away when not at my desk.

maras2 · 14/07/2018 09:39

That's your pen, Micky Luv Smile

QueenAravisOfArchenland · 14/07/2018 09:39

Yabu about the "germs". That level of germaphobia is irrational and counterproductive. Unless you plan to live and work in an isolated sterile bubble, you are going to be exposed to a wide range of flora and pathogens, which is both inevitable and on the whole healthy. Sharing pens is not a risk to you.

Wash your hands regularly, accept that bacteria are everywhere and in fact you're mostly made up of them, and stop bogarting the pens, unless they're the good kind that you pay for yourself.

TheNoseyProject · 14/07/2018 09:41

Well germ issues aside, yanbu! Where I work it’s hard to get a decent pen. I had a lovely one free from a conference. Senior bod passes by and says ‘can I just borrow a pen?’ So I hand him mine. He jots something down (I’ve turned back to my PC at this point) and when he leaves I realize... He’s taken MY PEN!

I never forgave him. Massive twat.

whiskeysourpuss · 14/07/2018 09:42

YANBU the best thing about my job is that I can order any stationery I want so I get good pens for me to use & crap pens for everyone else as they're so lackadaisical with them & lose them all the time.

I lock my pens stapler, hole punch, clips, post its etc in my drawer when I'm on holiday because they'd all disappear if I didn't.

Slartybartfast · 14/07/2018 09:43

keep it on a piece of string op.

Katinkka · 14/07/2018 09:43

Anyone who really cares about pens has a stash of shitty pens for the purpose of lending/giving. I’ve spent way too much money at cultpens!

HelenaJustina · 14/07/2018 09:45

YANBU
If I’m using one of my pens (usually brought in from home/purchased myself) I have to hide it when I leave the work. The crappy plastic mass produced bulk bought ones make me angry!

Fromage · 14/07/2018 10:05

I love my pens and hate lending them because I am a stationery junkie and no one else will appreciate the glory of my pens. I accept I am totally bonkers in this, but other stationery lovers will understand Grin

However, the germy thing? No, I'm with your dh, it's a bit loony. But we all have a 'thing' don't we? So keep a pot of spare filthpens on your desk to lend to the Unclean. Problem solved.

Notevilstepmother · 14/07/2018 10:08

Yep, keep your pens safe and have some accessible cheap nasty pens for people to borrow.

Ifailed · 14/07/2018 10:10

It's because of all the diseased pens that I took to wearing one of these to work.

to dislike sharing pens at work
SoShinySoChrome · 14/07/2018 10:27

Ifailed Grin

Where can I order one?

Whisky2014 · 14/07/2018 10:28

Im the same op. Or if someone uses my pen i then go and get another one.

Sparklingbrook · 14/07/2018 10:40

I have my own special pen and also carry a spare in case anyone needs one. Grin But I also have a pencil case nobody knows about so I can always find a highlighter/ruler etc. Blush

steff13 · 14/07/2018 10:45

Anyone who really cares about pens has a stash of shitty pens for the purpose of lending/giving.

This. I buy crappy pens at back to school time, usually 20 for $1, for people to "borrow." I'm stingy with my good pens.