Ergonomic keyboards are known to offer numerous health and other benefits. These types of keyboards focus on both hand and wrist as they give them a natural position for long typing sessions.
Besides, these keyboards are excellent to use for short durations but the users have to squeeze their elbows, wrists, and shoulders. They have to ensure their hands are perpendicular to their keyboard deck.
If you use a mac ergonomic keyboard for the first time, you’ll find it disconcerting. Even after using an ergonomic keyboard and leave it for long without using, when you use it again, it will take you some time before you feel “right” again.
Why It’s Not For All
There are many reasons as to why the ergonomic keyboard is not for all. Although, in the long run, using an ergonomic keyboard makes you feel better as the arms don’t tire much. Moreover, you reduce repetitive strain injuries that result in damages of the muscles, nerves, and tendons through typing.
Here is why the wired or wireless ergonomic keyboards aren’t suitable to all people:
Expensive
The cost of the ergonomic keyboard is high and therefore not all users can afford it. Although there is a broad range, the higher end models might cost you $200 or more. That is specifically if you’re purchasing one suitable to use in your office.
Besides, ergonomic keyboards also come with some drawbacks. There is no reason as to why one should pay that much yet you can use an ordinary keyboard for simple tasks.
Some of the ergonomic keyboards come with an attractive design. The benefits they offer users make them come with a hefty price tag.
Slow typing speed
In most offices, they are purchasing ergonomic keyboards in bulk as they need to use in their offices. But, the keyboards might have a negative impact on productivity.
For those employees that have been accustomed to using a regular keyboard, it will take them many days before they adapt. Therefore, they will be taking longer to perform the same functions and that leads to a negative impact on the organization.
For example, if it takes an employee a few seconds to create an email and send it with a normal keyboard, he will need more seconds to minutes with an ergonomic keyboard. That is a disadvantage to the organization because the extra seconds spent will be more for multiple emails and across a week. It will bring a great impact.
So, if you need to use a high typing speed to increase productivity, a normal keyboard will be the perfect one.
Fatigue and certain injuries
When you use an ergonomic keyboard, it forces you to keep your elbows wide from your body. So, at such angle, the elbows will feel fatigued and for some cases, that can lead to an injury.
Besides, when you’re using some function and number keys, the upper arm is forced to move further. That leads to tiring your muscles. It will not only lead to additional injury but will also lead you to slow typing. It is not healthy for people who are required to type more as a measure of their productivity.
The more you constantly move your hands for longer distances, that might lead to twisting of your wrist. It is the injury that a user will try and avoid using an ergonomic keyboard.
Generally, it means that you have to use more muscles for you to type using an ergonomic keyboard. It also means you will expend more energy and therefore, high potential of getting hurt.
Not intuitive for use by the experienced typist
There those that are split in the middle, and therefore have separated sections for function and numbers keys. So, with such a design, it will require one to reconfigure his or her style that was learned before.
Any time one is typing, he or she is forced to pay attention. That is because the chances are that one moves both hands on the keyboard as they unconsciously make calculations on how to expend the movements. For most programs that help to teach typing, they suggest that users have to do that. An example is where one uses one hand to type Y key and the other to press another key.
When it comes to ergonomic keyboards, it means that only one hand has to access half of the keyboard. It is something that typist makes them alter their typing stance. It also slows them down considerably. After all, these keyboards will force the users to use more energy for a simple task.
The Final Words
Ergonomic keyboards are suitable for people who are used to them. However, they have to choose appropriate ergonomic keyboards. That is hassle-free when one knows his or her ideal typing position.
Vertical keyboards are the much-preferred type because they allow anyone to type while in a neutral position. They are the type that comes with two vertical keying modules separated and each hand has to type at the handshake position.
The other choice could be a tented keyboard. The only problem is that ergonomic keyboards are not suitable for all. Only a few people feel the benefits of such keyboards.