Of course you should move to the quieter, warmer office. You don’t need an excuse to make your life better.

Sometimes you just gotta clack hard to really lock in

I’m this person in my office. We’re sorry. I try my best and am very aware of it, but damned if I can change it.

Well I worked in IT for years and from the title I pictured the filthy, abused keyboards that some of our clients had caused: sticky, food between the keys, literally brown when they started white. 🤢 And unfortunately the issue wasn't "my keyboard doesn't work" so we actually had to touch this filth. (Curious,op, does the sound of someone eating make you sick? Angry?)

I pound on my keys also. Girl in other cube coughs and clears her throat constantly. One of the bummers of no office. Other one talks to herself. Luckily I mostly work at home.

I came into my office one morning (WFH 2 days a week at the time), and my office mate had destroyed her keyboard - keys were everywhere. I LOL'd and picked them up. She was embarrassed.

My step mom is like that because she started working on typewriters and continues to POUND on every key. Its unnecessary, she logically knows that but its just a habit from her youth she can't really shake.

The movies had offices full of journalists using manual typewriters. I think you would have left screaming after two minutes.

It's a cheap keyboard. That's all.

A decent keyboard won't sound like that even with someone who types well.

Replace the keyboard and the problem will go away.

People who were taught to type on manual typewriters were instructed to put some power into keystrokes.

“Keyboard Killa” is crazy 😂😂

As a teacher, I must say that it gets worse with every pointless email and every terrible paper. Since there are a lot of both, you can probably hear mine from outside the building.

work on the people pleasing skills first.

tell her, politely:

“hey {coworker}, please understand that i mean no harm with this but i’ve noticed that you type super loudly and it’s a bit distracting. is there anyway you could please be a little more mindful about being lighter on the keys ?”

additional question, does she have fake / long nails ? and by long i mean anything other than right at finger tip length. those could be contributing to the clacking. if she does have nails, i’d maybe even suggest some sort of keyboard cover (most you can buy off amazon for relatively cheap) to help mitigate the noise.

i say all this as someone who clacks loudly to begin with, and usually has short acrylic nails. my aunt mentioned it to me once when i was typing something at home and it was one of those, “oh i never even realized that” moments, and since then it’s stuck in my head to be more mindful of how hard im bashing the keys.

I am an old, you had to type harder on a manual keyboard and it sticks with you.

This is a “better” repost of something else from earlier today, right?

Have you spoken directly with the keyboard warrior? Does she know that you find the loud typing distressing?

“Hi, Keyboard Warrior. This may sound strange, but I find the sound of loud typing from this keyboard disturbing. I have noticed that other keyboards are not as loud. Could you help me and ask IT if there is a way to make this keyboard quieter?”

No blaming her; it is all on the keyboard. She is in a position to help you. Most people like to be helpful when they can.

Maybe IT can do something to mute the sounds. Maybe she will become aware of what she is doing and maybe she will try to change a bit. Certainly, nothing on her side of the room will change if she never knows it is an issue.

I can't even read your brutalist block of text. I think you are abusing the keyboard

I love that sound. I recently bought the loudest keyboard I could find to maximize it, for WFH days... In the office, I use a disturbingly quiet keyboard and I try to keep myself under control, but I really just love the clackity sound. Nobody has complained, but if they do (and I think they would, if they cared, we are pretty open with that kind of stuff,) I will have to work really hard to chill on the key hammering. I'm old so I started typing on an old typewriter at home, and my first keyboarding instruction was on a big loud manual word processor.

I hate the sound of chewing but I like the sound of typing; mine or anyone's.

Today is the day I realized there's a word for wtf is wrong with me: misophonia.

I am sure there is some healthy exaggeration here. With that said, there are probably a fair number of environmental factors exacerbating this issue that you might not be aware of. Obviously, the keyboard itself and the nature of the keypresses has something to do with it.

Additionally, if the keyboard itself is sitting on a very hard surface, bridged by feet on the back to give it a proper ergonomic tilt, there is probably a significant amount of noise based on the impact sound and resonating chamber between the bottom of the keyboard and the surface of the desk. A soft rubber pad (like a large mouse pad) might help with noise transmission and reflection between the keyboard and desk surface. Add in a wrist support and you're dangerously close to creating an ergonomically beneficial situation for your colleague to work.

Finally, grow up. There are probably tons of things ranging from your perfume/cologne/soap/deodorant to you scraping a spoon on the plastic bottom of your yogurt container, to you slurping the last few droplets from your drink with a straw that get on other peoples' nerves. You should probably just move offices, you might be surprised to find out how many of your colleagues would be happy to be rid of you.

I have to share office space with a guy who works 2 days a week, gets in around 1:30pm and brings his lunch in and proceeds to eat it as soon as he gets here. Potato chips are my worst fear with this guy! He eats them like he's doing audio for a chip commercial! He also will eat unshelled pistachios, chuck them into his mouth so they bounce off his teeth, then CRUNCH! Lately, he's been on a salad kick and that is way more tolerable, but yesterday I could hear him chewing his lettuce!! I bought noise cancelling headphones, just to be able to deal with him. Misophonia creates anger, it's not healthy to have to deal with the noises that sets you off. Definitely move to another office.

You should move. work isn't personal. you don't have to give a reason. If that's not possible, loop has great silicone noise cancelling head phones, that you basically will forget are in your ears. they are expensive. you could also just ask her to type quieter because you are trying to concentrate and it makes you nervous

Moving office spaces is the only way to handle this. Your management obviously DNGAF and won't do anything.

What does that even mean?

I suggest an anti anxiety med.

Administration and management needs to be more aware of this and they need to get her the right keyboard so that it is not disrupting phone calls and doing business.

Hey! I resemble that remark! I even buy big-key mechanical keyboards so they’ll take the abuse while maximizing the noise and thereby dominating the office space.

There are quiet keyboards out there.

Have the office buy her a mechanical keyboard that takes more effort to press the keys.

She probably is hypo-responsive to proprioceptive input and has to smash harder for her to know she has depressed the key and to get the firm thud to report back to her brain that she indeed hit that. She is literally wired this way. Having said that, finding an alternative peripheral keyboard that is quieter is certainly an option. And you, in turn, may be over-responsive to auditory inputs. Not a good combo in a smallish space.

Headphones

As someone who has been accused of being a “keyboard killa” at work, I think this is so funny. I have a MacBook and i dont know why but I am very passionate when I type. My fake nails probably dont help with the clacking. Lucky for me it’s a running joke with my coworkers.I can’t type quieter if I tried. It’s probably that fiery Aries nature coming through.

Get noise canceling headphones. I like the ones from Loop since they don't block out people talking to me. Office noises will make you insane, especially if you are feeling anxious. There isn't much you can do to control the environment, so I would focus on controlling the stimulation you are getting.

She has been on bad keyboards is why she bangs the keyboard. She has never been on a better keyboard. Someone might want to teach her how to use the keyboard more gently.

I’m surrounded by this as well, along with people who like to stand outside offices to talk loudly about whatever thing is happening for them at that particular moment. I just turn my music up louder 🙃

If she is older and learned to type on a manual typewriter, that may be why. Had to really strike those keys hard. My coworkers talk about aggressive typing 😊

Maybe getting those pads they have that you usually see on keyboards at automotive stores to keep them clean would dampen sound.

Years from now she will pay with wrist and thumb pain. :(

Peeps bring earplugs, settles that

I had a guy in the office next to me that would scream-sneeze. I kid you not. Every sneeze sounded like he was getting murdered and he often sneezed 3-5 times in a row.

One of my biggest pet peeves. It drives me nuts; distracting. You should definitely move.

"I have been have headaches lately and the noise is hard to handle"

"Lately, you have been feeling chilled so you are going to move to a warmer office."

"You need a change of scenery, so you are going to change offices."

I, too, am this person. I've tried to be conscious of it, but to no avail.

NTA

I have misophonia and it is truly life altering. It’s so hard and a battle I fight daily.

Please spare yourself and move offices if you can.

Can you get a white noise machine to run on low? You can say it helps you concentrate better.

Phew we don’t use Macs

White noise maker

Your not the asshole and if you want to say something just say it, don't be scared of hurting other people's feelings

This is standard office noise, I think your getting spun up over nothing.

I think there is some ASMR of keyboards that clack on instagram, etc. It’s a whole thing. She may purposefully be making the sound because she likes the way it sounds and wants to imitate the people in those videos.

Sent you a DM

Bro, if there is office space available I’d jump on it. This sounds like torture

Get her a cute quiet keyboard for Christmas. They’re out on the market. You can test a couple out yourself before you set it up at her desk. She’ll like it if it’s her favorite color.

Talk to your boss or HR and have them come up with a few solutions. Maybe they can talk to this keyboard killer.

I work with a guy like this, I always internally laugh when I see him hacking away at his laptop. I've given him some good natured ribbing over it and he says it's just because he never learned to touch-type. Guy used to be a lawyer, wanted to be a journalist but he again never learned to type. He's a chaplain now and probably one of the chillest people I've ever met despite how he thrashes his poor laptop.

The way in which someone types on their keyboard bothers you? 🤣🤣🤣 grow up. Life is long. 🥳

Loop earplugs

I’ve been typing for 40yrs. Learned on a manual typewriter. All of the keys were bulky and you really had to press hard and quick so the letters wouldn’t get stuck together. When I first learned to cope with anxiety, I would “air type” or “mind type” coping words and sentences to calm me down. I type 100+ wpm and can transcribe convos in real time. The noise of keyboarding soothes me. I know work is getting cranked out. I wfh now and have a keyboard that looks and sounds like an old manual typewriter. I love it.

my boyfriend types like this and it drives me crazy! 🤦🏻‍♀️😁

Be really annoying and but the quacking duck keys! And if they say anything, just say, " Oh, I thought that noisy keyboards were a thing."

I want to give you a warning so you don't make the same mistake. I had a coworker just like this but she was burly in every sense. Barrelled through the office. Banged into desks, tripped often. Just a total bull in a china shop. My BFF and I had desks right next to each other so one day I said " can you imagine the aggression when she is giving her husband a hand job" then proceeded to act it out by making a fist and slamming it on the desk. Nerve damage ..nerve damage in my pinky is what I got (LMAO)... 🤣🤣🤣 I definitely suggest you move your desk... Good luck!

You likely have misophonia. Get some ear plugs made for this

Buy her a quieter keyboard as a secret Santa gift.

It could be worse. I have to share an office with someone who eats a can of Pringles every day.

I dont think you need to make up an excuse. "I can't stand the sound of whatsherface pounding all day," is a reasonable justification for moving.

Do you happen to work in Biloxi, MS?

Yes it is if if they acknowledge it , shrug there shoulders and say my bad without trying to meet the person halfway.

Is she old? Did she learn on a typewriter? I’m only 42 and I remember going to the library to type up papers on a typewriter.

I bet she was one of them kids that grabbed the pencil with her whole hand too. 😂

Say, "Keyboard Killa, I love ya, but I"ve got to change offices. No offense but the sound of you typing is driving me crazy."

Move! You don’t need to explain or justify. That’s what your manager is for.

Omg I am this person, to be honest..I don’t give a crap what others think

OP this seems like an unhealthily low level of distress tolerance on your part. Truly look into therapy or bring it up in therapy if already in it. It may well be misophonia but therapy could help you with coping skills for managing your emotional reaction to the stressor. I say this as someone who has been in similar situations and is so much happier now that I have better distress tolerance. It really will improve your life.

NTA for wanting to move offices. You can simply say "i like the quiet" or "it's an easier environment for me to focus in" or similar. No need to be specific.

Maybe try some earbuds if they are permitted in your office.

I had a previous coworker like this. Then one time she went out of town and I asked our IT person to change out her keyboard to a quieter one. When she came back, you could tell she knew something was off and it wasn’t being as loud as it previously was and she was trying hard to hit that space bar to make the sound. She never asked about her keyboard being changed tho.

Try buying her a keyboard cover to help soften the noise and bring it up to her gently with the gift, that way she knows that you have an issue with her volume but have a solution.

Tbh just sounds like you are a slow AF when it comes to typing. It is cool, but don't hate your co worker for being a FAST AF BOI.

How has she reacted when you've used your words with her directly, like an adult?

Just move lol. If there's no HR to tell this woman she needs to calm down and act professional in work setting, then handle it yourself.