Desk Worker Blames The ‘Office Air Theory’ For Looking So Disheveled By The End Of The Workday & Experts Back Her Up
KinoMasterskaya | ShutterstockIf you’ve ever looked in the mirror at the end of a workday and thought you looked noticeably different from how you did that morning, corporate employee and content creator Noa Donlan thinks she knows why.
Donlan created the “office air theory” to explain why office workers’ appearances change so much throughout the day. It’s her belief that the air in an office, or perhaps just the environment in general, isn’t good for you and can alter your appearance. This may sound like nothing but pseudo-science, but facts actually back her up.
Donlan said the air in a corporate office can do everything from ruin your makeup to dry out your skin.
In one video, she used several images to explain what happens after sitting in an office all day. “POV: you’re a victim of office air,” she said. Apparently, the undesirable office air makes workers’ hair frizzy, causes makeup to separate, leaves their lips chapped, and even causes bad acne.
She’s elaborated on this theory in many other videos featuring clips of herself before and after the workday. “9 a.m.: hair CLEAN, skin CLEAR, face NOT puffy,” she said in one. “And then … 1 p.m.: hair OILY, eye bags DARK, face PUFFY.”
Other people on TikTok left thousands of comments saying they had experienced the same thing and felt grateful there was a way to describe it now. “This makes me feel better. I thought I was just ugly,” one said, while another admitted, “I’ve accepted that I will never look pretty at work.”
Donlan hopes that by bringing awareness to this issue, someone can get to the bottom of it.
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She said that she has received an “overwhelmingly positive” response to her videos in an interview with People, showing that the effects of office air truly are universal. Donlan has seen this herself as she has worked in multiple offices over the years.
“I honestly noticed it for the first time back when I was a student in college, but it became more obvious to me once I started working full-time four years ago,” she said. “I’d leave the house feeling put together, but when I looked in the office bathroom mirror at 12 p.m., my skin would be dry, my (now oily) hair would be flat, and I just wouldn’t feel like myself anymore!”
There’s been plenty of agreement in the comments sections of Donlan’s videos, but she has heard similar things from people she knows personally as well. “After seeing how many other people related to this experience and as someone who sees the value of being able to work in the office, I think it may be time to start asking, ‘What is happening/causing these issues?’ and ‘What can we do about it?’” she shared.
There’s definitely evidence of problems with office air.
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), low-quality indoor air can cause symptoms such as fatigue and eye irritation and exacerbate existing health problems such as asthma. Everything from humidity to ventilation can affect the quality of indoor air.
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As someone pointed out in a TikTok comment, this phenomenon is sometimes known as “sick building syndrome.” The U.K.’s National Health Service said this can occur in any building, but is most common in offices. It causes things like headaches, itchy skin, and coughing.
This explains the physical symptoms Donlan and others mentioned, but it doesn’t technically cover why you may feel like you just don’t look quite as good after a day at the office. Perhaps someone needs to actually test office air to figure that out.
Still, we tend not to look our best when we don’t feel our best, so it makes sense that being super tired with an aching head would throw off our appearance. And things like watery eyes are bound to mess up makeup, so it really is feasible.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
