Why should I have to get a doctor's note?

This issue really doesn't need a doctor's note. Ergonomics standards are available to our IT department. If they came over with a tape measure they could prove that I can't possibly be comfortable with the monitor flat on the desk. I just don't understand why someone even with the buttons on the front of my shirt can't figure out that I might not be comfortable with a workstation set up for them. It wouldn't bother me if getting the note wasn't such an inconvenient chore.

If the IT department is already up to speed on Ergonomics,why is a Doctor's note a requirement? Surely a photo of you hunched over your computer should do the trick?

I don't think our IT people or HR people have spent a great deal of time considering ergonomics. One part that irks me not mentioned yet is that they have been making noises of throwing disciplinary action in my general direction for the last three months but none of them have the guts to say two words to me on the subject to my face not even when I have asked them specific questions in person. They have threatened some of the other employees on the subject and have told them that they would have me written up but never say anything to me directly.

Well, then I guess it is just hogwash not only because your friend agreed with you but also because you said they do place the monitor on top of the computer for people that have a doctor's note rather than getting them a different monitor that is designed to be more adjustable and therefore more ergonomically correct. However, what I was talking about has more to do with cooling and airflow in the computer than whether or not a computer can hold the weight of the monitor, which is why I also said that towers are not supposed to be placed on the floor, especially a carpeted one. I do not know where the vents are on your computer nor do I know how close the computer would have to be to the wall in order for the monitor to fit on it properly and still allow you to be able to work, especially if your keyboard is sitting on your desk as well. If the monitor on top of the computer blocks the vents or forces the computer to be too close to a wall, though, then it prevents proper airflow and can cause your computer to overheat, which not only can damage your computer but also is a potential fire hazard. Here is a link to an article http://static.highspeedbackbone.net/html/guide_Basic_PC_Cooling.html with information regarding this issue.

Interesting article you reference but completely irrelevant in regards to the situation where I work. Whether the main computer unit is beside the monitor or underneath it the vents draw air from the same place and blows it out into the same space. The monitor resting on top of the unit does not block any vents or interfere with airflow.

The computer is clearly designed with the capability of placing the monitor on top of it when it is in the horizontal position. How pray tell will placing a lightweight flat screen monitor on top of it cause any damage. I worked in a previous call centre where the IT department demanded that the old heavy monitors be placed on top of similarly configured computers. Second anyone who gets a doctor's note at my current place of employment will automatically have their workstation configured this way. That part of your answer sounds like hogwash to me. I've researched online and cannot find any statement anywhere to support your point. One of my good friends back in Ontario runs an IT department for another company and thinks the whole thing is a crock too. Yes a lot of monitors these days are fully adjustable. My company is too cheap to shell out for something like that. Ours tilt a little bit and that is it. The doctor's note is also something that they don't technically have a right to ask for. Ergonomic requirements are clearly published in Canada and it doesn't take a doctor to decide whether someone needs them. I have stated very clearly to them that if they wish to discipline me for not getting a doctor's note I will make a complaint to the labour board. In that event I will take it a step further. I will get a doctor's note and force them to buy me a proper ergonomic chair and set up a work station specifically for me. I might sound like a real pain in the you know where so and so, but anyone who knows me knows I am easy going, hard working and reliable. I'm not picking this fight.

If it was easy for me to get the note I wouldn't be growling over this. My wife is looking into making arrangements to get a note. We first need to find a doctor available while I'm not working who will provide one without me having to wait half a day at a clinic. I have a bit of a short fuse when it comes to unnecessary doctor's notes. We were reported once to social services for not bring one of our children to the hospital for treatment that was never needed. A year following the report we still had to get a doctor's note proving our youngest child was not injured and never needed treatment. The doctor provided the note but thought the whole thing was an inexcusable waste of everyone's time.

Don't think you quite understood my grievance here. I don't understand why I should have to get a doctor's note for something that anyone can see. I got the doctor's note after another employee decided he had the right harass me on the subject just to be in his own words "a prick". As a result of the doctors note I was given an ergonomic review which we won't get without a doctor's note. My monitor is now permanently elevated six and a half inches which is far more than I was demanding. I also have a chair reserved for my personal use because not all the chairs will adjust adequately. I did stop short of forcing the company to get an expensive chair for my personal use because I didn't do any of this to make trouble. The work station is reserved exclusively for me. I honestly don't believe any of this was really necessary.