You wouldn’t run an ultramarathon in Vibram FiveFinger shoes if you could instead opt for cushy, cloud-like Hokas. So, if you do a lot of typing, it’s worth asking yourself if a standard-issue keyboard is the best tool for the job.
The Nuon team is heavily distributed, and from frequent communication on Slack to daily coding, there’s a constant need for a high volume of typing. For us and our needs, split keyboards are the Hokas of the typing world. Their science-fiction aesthetic is the product of their hyper-focus on ergonomics. They’re popular here because the ability to comfortably type for long periods of time perfectly aligns with Nuon's culture of heavy experimentation and optimizing every aspect of our workflow.
A Culture of Encouragement
Split keyboards aren't cheap, and that's a real barrier for curious folks who want to dip their toes in. Worse, the ecosystem is vast. There are so many flavors out there, you can burn through several before finding one that clicks (pun intended). It's an investment of both money and time.
At Nuon, we're fortunate to have leadership that walks the walk. Our founder and CEO, Jon Morehouse, is a devoted Kinesis Advantage2 user and has fostered an internal culture that encourages people to explore split keyboards. That encouragement is genuine. He's even gifted a Kinesis Advantage2 to one of our engineers in India.
The result? Roughly 40% of Nuon employees are avid split keyboard users. That's not a mandate, it's organic adoption fueled by curiosity and peer support.
Humble Beginnings
When I joined Nuon, I was initially curious but hesitant about using a split keyboard. I had briefly used a Microsoft ergonomic keyboard before, so I understood the theoretical health benefits firsthand. But for the longest time I was stubborn and unwilling to fully dedicate myself to a split keyboard because, as a PC gamer, it felt unnatural to me for gaming. That changed as I spent less time gaming in my adult years.
Pinky finger responsibilities
The strain on my right pinky from using a standard ANSI keyboard layout, especially for typing all the symbols needed as a software engineer, became a significant issue. The frequent stretches to reach symbol keys, along with the constant reaching for common keys like Shift, Delete, and Return, led to a repetitive strain injury (RSI). The pain grew so severe that I had to start using a pointing device exclusively with my left hand to give my right hand a break.
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