"This isn't an office -- it's hell with…

“This isn’t an office—it’s hell with fluorescent lighting” is a jocular saying that has been printed on many posters. The saying has been cited in print since at least 1999 and is of unknown authorship.

“School is hell with fluorescent lighting” is a popular variation of the saying.

Google Groups: alt.fashion
Stila Luce - different color :(
RMThompson
4/29/99
(...)
Rosalie
.....This isn’t an office. It’s Hell with fluorescent lighting…..

Google Books
Getting Your Groove Back:
The Sassy Woman’s Guide to Recharging Your Life
By Amy Hall
Kansas City, MO: Andrews McMeel Pub.
2000
Pg. 8:
This isn’t an office. It’s Hell with fluorescent lighting.
—Unknown

Google Books
22 August 2000, Weekly World News, “Just for Laughs,” pg. 36, col. 1:
5. This isn’t an office. It’s Hell with fluorescent lighting.

Google News Archive
2 February 2002, The Spokesman=Review (Spokane, WA), “Clocking In” by Rick House, pg. D3, col. 3:
This isn’t an office. It’s hell with fluorescent lighting.

Google Books
Man Walks into a Bar:
Over 6,000 of the Most Hilarious Jokes, Funniest Insults and Gut-Busting One-Liners
By Stephen Arnott and Mike Haskins
Berkeley, CA: Ulysses Press
2007
Pg. ?:
This isn’t an office; it’s Hell with fluorescent lighting.

Twitter
9GAG
‏@9GAGfeeds
School: hell with fluorescent lighting. http://bit.ly/cBu63r
4:37 AM - 10 Apr 2010

Twitter
Fahris Ramadan
‏@Fahris56
School is not school. It’s Hell with fluorescent lighting…
Apple Valley, MN
9:02 AM - 8 Apr 2014