As the National Day holiday came to an end, many office workers in Hangzhou returned to their buildings and noticed something odd: they left home looking fresh and polished, but after a full day in the office their complexion looked dull, their skin felt dry and itchy, and by the time they clocked out they seemed to have aged several years. Many people assume this is simply post-holiday fatigue or the result of staying up late, but Han Chao, director of the Plastic Surgery and Dermatology Department at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Xinhua Hospital), warns that this may be a health problem caused by the office environment rather than a purely psychological feeling.

Not long ago, Dr. Han treated a 28-year-old white-collar worker in Hangzhou surnamed Liu. Liu had been receiving skin care treatment at the hospital for some time, and this year she joined an internet company in Hangzhou's CBD. Within just three months, her body began showing a series of abnormalities: afternoon headaches, itchy skin, excessive facial oil, dry eyes, and a noticeable drop in concentration. Strangely, many colleagues in her work area had similar discomfort, with symptoms clearly worsening after 2 p.m., yet within one to two hours of returning home after work, the headaches and dry eyes would ease on their own.

Similarly, Dr. Han had another patient in his clinic, a 35-year-old man whose consulting company moved into a newly renovated office just one week after the work was completed. He had no history of allergies, but he began experiencing facial redness and itching along with dry eyes and nose. When he rested at home on weekends, his skin discomfort improved, but when he returned to the office on Monday the symptoms recurred, and multiple colleagues simultaneously experienced throat discomfort and dizziness.

Han explained that the conditions of these two patients are typical manifestations of Sick Building Syndrome, or Sabesp (SBS). The World Health Organization defined the condition in 1979: people who work and live inside a specific building, affected by a combination of multiple indoor environmental factors, develop a series of non-specific discomfort symptoms. The condition has four major characteristics: rapid discomfort upon entering the building; multiple people in the same space falling ill; symptoms clearly easing several hours after leaving the building; and the condition being triggered by a combination of multiple pollutants, making it difficult to identify a single source. Relevant WHO data show that indoor air pollution causes approximately 3.2 million premature deaths each year.

Itchy, red skin is the most visible sign of how the office environment damages appearance. The sealed environment of office buildings hides many skin-damaging hazards: air conditioning runs continuously, and indoor humidity often sits at only 30 to 40 percent, below the 50 to 60 percent that skin prefers, causing the stratum corneum to lose moisture and the skin barrier to weaken, leading to flaking, fine dry lines, and the combination of oily surface with dry interior; repeatedly switching between indoor and outdoor temperatures causes skin blood vessels to constantly contract and dilate, worsening redness and visible capillaries in sensitive skin and lowering skin resistance. Inadequate ventilation in sealed spaces leaves dust, skin flakes, PM2.5, and printer toner suspended in the air, sticking to the face and clogging pores, which triggers closed comedones; air conditioning filters that are not cleaned for long periods blow out air carrying mold and bacteria, irritating both skin and respiratory tract. Staring at a computer screen for long periods means blue light intensifies skin oxidation, causing dullness and pigmentation; sitting for long hours with little movement and insufficient water intake slows blood circulation and reduces blood supply to the skin, and combined with lack of sleep, the skin's ability to repair itself declines, leaving the face sallow and lusterless.

"Many people whose skin gets worse and who feel dizzy and fatigued blame only their own constitution or the strain of work, and simple skin care treatments have limited effect because they overlook the office environment as the root cause," Han said.

For white-collar workers in office buildings, Han offered practical advice on both environment and skin care: when conditions permit, open windows regularly for ventilation, 15 to 30 minutes each time; remind property management to clean air conditioning filters and ducts periodically; place a small humidifier at the workstation to keep indoor humidity between 40 and 60 percent; and get up and move every one to two hours, going into the corridor to breathe fresh air. For skin protection: maintain basic moisturizing, keep a hydrating spray on hand for dry skin, and repair the skin promptly during lunch breaks; even for desks near windows, use indoor sunscreen; in the afternoon, gently cleanse the face to reduce dust buildup; and drink water in small amounts frequently rather than waiting until thirsty.

Doctors especially remind people to recognize warning signs. If discomfort occurs only on workdays and improves when resting at home, environmental factors should be considered first, and the employer can be advised to conduct indoor environmental testing for carbon dioxide, formaldehyde, TVOC and other indicators; if symptoms persist after leaving the office and are accompanied by fever or severe coughing, a hospital visit is needed promptly to rule out other diseases.

"The office environment is hard to change immediately, but skin care and health habits are within your own control," Han said, noting that members of the public who need it can undergo skin testing at a proper hospital and, depending on their own condition, receive medical aesthetic procedures such as barrier repair to improve a tired office look.