Maintenance for fluorescent lamps is very different than incandescents. With incandescent bulbs you just put them in and replace them when they stop working. Fluorescents don’t work that way.
Fluorescent lamps typically don’t “burn-out” and stop working. They slowly get dimmer and dimmer over time. They need to be replaced based on how long they have been on. It is different lengths of time for different lamps, but the box will probably list the expected life of the lamp, and it will be a number like 8,000 or 10,000 hours. If you have your lights on for about 6 hours a day, say 1 hour before work and 5 hours after (6 to 11), you’ll have them on a little more than 2,000 hours a year. The expected life is not the length of time until it stops working, it will work long after reaching its allotted time, it will just have gotten so dim as to need replacement. When you change the bulb it will seem much brighter.
There actually are filaments (similar to an incandescent light bulb) in a fluorescent lamp located at each end. When you see the ends of the lamp getting darker over time, that is the lamp aging and material burning off those filaments and depositing on the glass. If the ends get really dark you should replace the lamps.
Fluorescents need to be on for about 100 hours to stabilize the phosphors when brand new. During this time they will be brighter than their rating and the color may shift, but not enough for you to see it. It really only matters for dimming fluorescents, since if the stabilization isn’t done before the lamps are dimmed it can dramatically shorten their life.
Fluorescents are temperature sensitive. They work better in warmer temperatures, up to a point. When you first turn them on it may take a short time to come to full intensity as they warm up.
