Broadcasting
Is Your Work From Home Office Harming Your Health?
Working from home offers many comforts, such as your work commute being reduced to a few short steps and the “canteen” only as far away as your fridge, but there are health risks associated with it that you may not have considered.
Offices feature furniture specially designed for long hours of sitting, expertly placed overhead lighting, and computer screens set up at the correct height. Cleaning staff also regularly wipe down desks, vacuum and mop floors, and sanitise kitchens areas and bathrooms.
If your WFH office is a more casually set up affair, and you don’t have a regular cleaner coming in to help you, Aisha Pandor, CEO of home-cleaning service SweepSouth suggests taking these steps below to help mitigate health risks associated with WFH offices.
Don’t eat lunch at your desk
Most of us don’t think twice about eating at our desks, but research shows that it can be detrimental to our health. A study done by microbiologist Dr. Charles Gerba of the University of Arizona to measure bacterial levels in offices shows that personal work areas contain alarmingly high levels of bacteria.
Desks, in particular, are teeming with germs, and eating at your desk can turn it into a bacteria super fest. It’s not the fact that you’re eating at your desk that’s unhealthy, it’s crumbs and tiny food particles left behind that bacteria feast on. In fact, Dr. Gerbera says, the average desk harbours 100 times more bacteria than a kitchen table!
Your WFH desk can support 10 million bacteria, and without proper cleaning, even a small area may contain bacteria that can make you ill. Keep your work surface hygienic by regularly cleaning it with an antibacterial product.
Wipe germs off your keyboard
During the pandemic, we all became aware of the importance of washing our hands thoroughly, especially after being out in public spaces. But, says Aisha, it’s important to practise good hand hygiene throughout the day, even if we don’t leave our homes.
According to British microbiologist Professor Sally Bloomfield, our hands and the surfaces we touch are the superhighways for bacteria. And, because we touch our phones and keyboards so often, they top the list of the dirtiest items on our desks. Wipe them down weekly to keep them clean. It’s impractical to think you can turn your home into a sterile zone, but you can stop your WFH space from becoming a bacterial battleground. If it feels exhausting balancing work, home duties and cleaning, hire a domestic worker through SweepSouth Connect to help tidy and clean for a few hours each week.
3. Vacuum your workspace
Any bits of food or biscuit crumbs that fall onto the floor or into hard-to-reach areas behind your desk can attract rats and cockroaches, bringing even more germs into the fray. Clean the floor around your desk regularly, especially if you have carpets. Carpets feel great underfoot, but they act as a trap for dirt, hair and dust mites, warns Aisha. Humans lose around 1 million skin particles and between 50-100 strands of hair every day, which means that as you sit at your WFH desk quietly typing away, you’re also busy being a human shedding machine! Even air pollutants like pollen, fungi and cigarette smoke get trapped in carpet fibres, and can trigger allergies, asthma and eczema attacks. It’s best, say the experts, to vacuum carpets and rugs at least twice a week, and more in high traffic areas.
4. Sitting is the new smoking
We’ve all heard that sitting is the new smoking, with warnings that sitting at a desk all day can be a major health hazard. According to a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine, sedentary behaviour can raise the risk of developing a disease like heart disease or Type 2 diabetes. Even if you exercise every day, sitting for long periods can still be problematic. It’s key to get up every hour and do a quick stretch or walk for at least a minute or two. A longer walk will be even better, boosting your circulation and helping to keep your joints, muscles, and ligaments loose.
5. Is your chair hurting your back?
The chair you sit in is very important. Most WFH chairs are dining room or kitchen chairs, suited only for short sitting sessions. A good chair — ideally an ergonomically designed office chair — will support your back and reduce aggravation to the spine. It’s also vital to be aware of your posture. We tend to slouch without even noticing it when we’ve been sitting in a chair for too long, which places a lot of pressure around the hips and back and strains the spine. It’s not just slouching that’s bad, though — sitting up straight and curving your back too much can put strain on it, too. Lastly, add abdominal strengthening exercises to your exercise routine. Having strong abdominal muscles helps with proper spine alignment and can relieve the pressure that sitting puts on your lower back.
6. Try to minimise eye strain
With remote working, everything happens via your screen, from the work you’re doing to Zoom meetings held with colleagues and clients, to the lunch you eat while checking emails on your phone.
Straining your vision can lead to blurry, overly sensitive eyes, watery or too-dry eyes, headaches, and Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). CVS is characterised by blurred vision, acute headaches and severe eye irritation, caused by hours of looking at rapidly flickering screens, where eye muscles are unable to recover from the constant tension required to maintain focus on a close object. It’s a reversible condition, but symptoms may become more severe if you don’t change the way you use screens.
Make sure your computer monitor is placed slightly below eye level and about 60cm from your eyes, adjust the screen’s glare so that it’s not too bright, and reduce the amount of light that falls onto your monitor. If your desk is close to a window, use blinds or curtains to eliminate brightness.
Most importantly, take frequent breaks. Our eye muscles contract when we look at something close by, and relax when we look away, so every 30 minutes, try to look away from your screen for a short period of time.
Working from home offers so many perks, but it can be intense. Make it both productive and enjoyable by taking regular breaks to lessen the stress on your body and health.
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has directed Overland Airways to refund Value Added Tax (VAT) wrongly charged to passengers on flight tickets purchased in 2025.
NCAA
The directive follows a social media complaint that highlighted the airline’s application of new tax policies to older bookings, prompting NCAA intervention.
Michael Achimugu, NCAA Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, confirmed Friday that Overland Airways agreed to process refunds after receiving clarification from the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS).
The issue emerged in late January 2026 when a passenger alleged on X (formerly Twitter) that her grandmother faced an extra N11,286 VAT charge at the airport for a 2025 ticket. On January 28, NCAA summoned the airline to justify the additional payments for pre-2026 tickets.
The regulator sought NRS guidance on retroactive VAT application. NRS ruled that updated VAT rules, effective January 1, 2026, exclude tickets issued before that date.
Achimugu updated on X: “This means passengers who paid VAT at check-in in 2026 for 2025 tickets were not supposed to be charged.”
Overland Airways accepted the clarification and pledged refunds, earning NCAA commendation for cooperation. Achimugu noted the airline initially viewed charges as valid under the new framework, but NRS interpretation prevailed.
“The issue has reached a satisfactory conclusion,” he stated, reaffirming NCAA’s commitment to passenger rights and fair policy enforcement.
Affected passengers who paid extra VAT on 2025-issued Overland tickets qualify for full refunds.
MultiChoice has said that it will not implement its customary yearly price increase on DStv and GOtv subscriptions.
This is the first time the Pay-TV company will not be adjusting its price in April, as it has in previous years, signalling a clear shift in direction under its new owner, Canal+.
The decision, confirmed by David Mignot, group chief executive,MultiChoice in an interview with TechCentral, comes as the pay television operator grapples with steep subscriber losses across its markets.
For many households accustomed to annual April tariff adjustments, the announcement will be a welcome break.
Responding to questions about whether DStv prices would rise in April as they have in previous years, Mignot gave a firm response: there will be no increase.
He explained that the company’s immediate focus is on rebuilding its subscriber base, making this an unsuitable period to adjust prices upward.
He added that while there are no current plans for a price hike, the company has not completely ruled out adjustments later in the year, especially if economic conditions demand it, such as significant currency movements.
MultiChoice has historically reviewed and raised DStv subscription fees in April, often citing inflationary pressures and rising content costs. As recently as April 2025, bouquet prices were adjusted upwards by between 2.1 per cent and 7.9 per cent.
The DStv Premium package rose from R929 to R979 per month, while DStv Access, the entry-level satellite package, recorded one of the steepest increases.
This year’s pause represents a break from that pattern and forms part of a broader reset following Canal+’s acquisition of MultiChoice in September 2025.
Mignot, who brings three decades of experience in the pay television industry, summed up his mission in simple terms: halt subscriber losses and return the business to growth.
The urgency behind the move is evident in MultiChoice’s recent performance.
The group has lost 2.8 million linear broadcasting subscribers in the two years ended 31 March 2025, with roughly half of those losses occurring in South Africa.
In the financial year to end-March 2025 alone, MultiChoice shed 1.2 million subscribers, representing an eight per cent year-on-year decline and leaving the group with 14.5 million active customers.
The previous year saw an even steeper drop of 1.6 million subscribers. By June 2025, Canal+ indicated that the pace of decline had intensified further.
The financial impact has been significant. Revenue for the year ended 31 March 2025 declined by R4 billion to R52 billion, while trading profit fell sharply by 49 per cent to R4 billion.
According to Mignot, the company’s difficulties stem less from its programming slate and more from weaknesses in its commercial execution.
He argued that in subscription businesses, a churn rate of between 12 and 15 per cent annually is inevitable as customers relocate, experience job losses, adjust household budgets, or change priorities. Without attracting a comparable number of new subscribers each year, losses accumulate.
Mignot maintained that the content offering remains strong, particularly in sport and general entertainment. He cited flagship brands such as SuperSport, M-Net and Africa Magic as evidence of sustained investment in programming. However, he stressed that content strength alone cannot offset a weakening subscriber acquisition engine.
He noted that MultiChoice’s commercial machinery had performed robustly across Africa until around 2022, describing the current challenges as relatively recent.
Drawing on Canal+’s experience in French-speaking African markets, Mignot pointed out that pricing there has remained largely unchanged for close to 14 years, supported by a volume-driven approach. He described his strategy as one focused on growing subscriber numbers while maintaining profitability.
While he did not dismiss the possibility of reviewing prices downward in future, he indicated that no such decision has been taken.
Spotify marked five years in Nigeria since its February 2021 launch with dramatic year-on-year listening growth averaging 163.5% through 2025, featuring triple-digit surges early on and sustained momentum, propelled by Afrobeats streams rocketing +5,022% alongside booming genres like Amapiano (+10,330%), Gospel/Praise (+5,499%), Hip-hop/Rap (+3,020%), and R&B (+2,602%).
Spotify
Indigenous language music listening surged +554% in Nigeria in 2024 and +87% in 2025, with global growth at +141% and +41% respectively, underscoring rising demand for local storytelling sounds.
The platform’s Nigerian artist roster expanded +158%, fueling a discovery boom where average listeners (aged 26) streamed 150 different artists recently; users created over 25 million playlists, logged 1.4 million play hours in 2025 alone, and streamed 59 billion podcast hours total.
Top Artists (2021-2025): Asake, Wizkid, Seyi Vibez, Burna Boy, Davido.
Top Songs: “Remember” (Asake), “Dealer” (Ayo Maff & Fireboy DML), “Awolowo” (Fido), “Kese (Dance)” (Wizkid), “Lonely At The Top” (Asake), “Joy is Coming” (Fido), “With You” (Davido feat. Omah Lay), “Terminator” (Asake), “MMS” (Asake feat. Wizkid), “Doha” (Seyi Vibez).
Nigeria’s debut stream was Shiga Lin’s Cantopop epitomizing borderless discovery from day one.
SEC Revokes Registration of Kensington Agro Trading Limited
NCDC Raises Alarm over Lassa Fever Ravaging 18 States in Nigeria
Lagos Deploys Drones, AI to Boost Traffic Response
Purple Woman 3.0 Is Back, to Empower Women in Tech this IWD 2026
NRS Targets N40trillion in Tax, Royalty Revenue in 2026
Accidental Billionaire Opts for Jail Instead of Returning Money Credited Him by Mistake
Kaspersky Brings more Transparency to Threat Detection with New Hunt Hub
Dr. Cairo Ojougboh Foundation Bolsters Nigeria’s Education Drive with ₦2.7m Student Support
NDPC Commits to Balancing Data Privacy, Protection Information
OADC Lagos Reinforces Commitment to Local Data Hosting and Digital Transformation @ NDPC’s National Privacy Week Summit
E-Financial2 days agoIran-Israel-US Conflict and CBN’s FX Gains: A Stress Test for Nigeria’s Monetary Stability
E-Financial2 days agoMutual Benefits Assurance Reaffirms Full Regulatory Compliance, Enhanced Governance
General News2 days agoJAMB Uncovers AI-Driven Fraud Targeting UTME Candidates, Warns Parents
General News2 days agoSERAP Asks FCCPC to Investigate Google, Meta, Others over Alleged Rights Abuses
News2 days agoTeamApt, Awabah Partner to Boost Pension Drive for Nigerians
News2 days agoFlashChange CEO, Bidemi Oke, Urges Startups to Build Strong Governance Structures Early
Telecom1 day agoWhy Digital Trust Matters: Secure, Responsible AI for African SMEs?
Telecom1 day agoSunil Bharti Mittal Conferred GSMA Lifetime Achievement Award for Transforming Global Telecommunications