Some offices give employees time off during holidays, but others don't. Some even make employees come to work on Christmas Day or during other festive seasons.

For me, I don't think it's fair to make an employee work during holidays. I think it should be voluntary - if you want to come to work, you can, but if you don't, you can stay home and celebrate with your family and friends.

Giving employees official holidays during their festive seasons should be part of their benefit package. I say "their festive seasons" because Christians may want to celebrate Christmas, Muslims may want to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, and Hindus may want to celebrate Diwali.

This is also a way to promote diversity in the workplace. If Christians take Christmas off, Muslims and Hindus can work, and then when Muslims take Eid off, Christians and Hindus can work. This way, you can regulate your workforce and give employees the freedom to celebrate their holidays.

By doing this, you prioritize employees' satisfaction and well-being. This is why people don't leave jobs, they leave toxic work environments. When you make people feel comfortable and loved, they will stay, and it will increase productivity and mutual respect.

Closing offices during holidays for like two weeks might affect business revenue, but how much?

You've been working from January to December, you should have sustainable investments and is it worth making employees miss out on time with their families and friends? I don't think so.

But what do you think about making someone's work mandatory during holidays?

Last night, I got into an argument with a friend. The place where we currently stay has certain issues - the landlord has problems settling the NEPA agency bills, the soakaway is leaking, and the house rent has been increased by an additional hundred thousand as of next year.

When they brought light, our place was the only one without electricity, while the neighbours had power. This really infuriated me, so I expressed my frustration, I said " I wonder why somebody would want to stay here next year, instead of look for somewhere else.

My friend replied, "Look for where? Is there a better place? Every other place has its own issues, so why take the time and stress to search for somewhere else and start over? Is it not better to stay here?"

I didn't expect that kind of response, so I asked if my friend was implying that this place - where we're using our personal money to fuel generators that cause noise and pollution, and dealing with water pump repairs and darkness while others have light - is acceptable.

My friend said, "That's how Nigeria is. If you move from here to another place, which one is better? Plus, consider the stress and everything." I countered saying that just because we don't know if we'll find somewhere better doesn't mean we should stay in a place that's financially draining and stressful.

My plight is, Nigerians often adapt to difficult situations, but that doesn't mean we should normalize them. We just know how to make an excuse, or find little consolation in the situation and continue managing.

Do we need to start changing our mindset before demanding better from the government? Our opinions just didn't align.

What do you think about this situation?

Getting involved, both in the political, economic, social aspect in your country even if you don't venture into all these sectors fully, having basic knowledge about what's going on is important. Listening to news or checking social media updates on this sector is important.

Someone in Africa might be like, 'I don't live in the United States of America, so their election is not my business.' But have you thought of the fact that your African country and these American countries indulge in trade? And your country's currency can be devalued by the exchange in the market.

When a country's currency is devalued, it means you have to earn more to afford certain things. Your country imports and exports to other people by the time there's a crisis in the neighbour trade country, people will be displaced, thinking only about safety me not trade at that moment.

So, if your country doesn't have a business partner to trade with, where do you think the revenue from international trade will come from? This factor impacts your country's economy, these things affect you directly as indirectly as an entrepreneur or a citizen.

And for the tech workers who feel like they have no business offline, if there's crisis in the international  country where you freelance and offer your skills and services, your clients would not actively be online. They would be trying to save their heads, It's only when a country is moving freely and peacefully, and trade is going on, that they'll recognize you as a techie if not you won't see an online market for your skills.
 

I kept seeing United States presidential election updates on a lot of my friends' status. A lot of  Bitcoin and crypto traders were onto it  because they support Trump who supports crypto. Because restricting laws can be put on the croup market by a government that doesn't support it and it will affect the price in the market which will affect you a Bitcoin holder, no matter your country.

So, we need to learn how to get involved in various sectors in our country. Don't be politically apathetic, when it's time to vote, go out there and exercise your right and protect your interest because no one else will. Learn to read news, get basic information, and however you can contribute to a sector, go ahead and contribute. It's an international collective effort for a better life.

Do you think events happening in another country should be your concern?

Democracy, which is supposed to be government of the people, for the people, and by the people, is now the new way for modern slavery. The government of my country, under the pretense of democracy, are taking citizens through hell. The situation we are in is a situation of smiling in pain.

The government, which is supposed to look out for us, are the ones tearing us apart. The currency does not have much value, inflation is on the high side, and the prices of things are triple the price it was at the beginning of the year.

The citizens speaking seems they are shouting into a void. It seems democracy has been used as a cover for either military rule or other forms of oppression that do not listen to the people.  Those in power want to keep fooling the people and continue ruling under the tag of democracy.

It's not easy to think positively with the current economy talk less about starting out on your own because there are certain opposing government policies and oppositions too.  What people do is adjust to the hardships.

People start looking for side incomes, working three jobs at once, trying to make ends meet, always on the go to work, neglecting their health and neglecting their emotions. A lot of people are even emotionally unstable, but they can't talk about it because that's not what's on the ground. You have a family to feed, you have responsibilities to take care of.

Political instability is the major cause of current economic hardship. The government is stabbing us while hugging us. Do you think political instability is the major course or something else?

Last week, the network in my area was terrible. With MTN, it takes over like 25mins to load new WhatsApp messages. I have to switch between MTN and Glo multiple times, as these are the only networks available in my area, Airtel is on God abeg mode. Tasks that should take thirty minutes end up taking an hour or more.

It's not just electricity (NEPA) we struggle with, especially those working remotely or in tech. We also fight with internet connectivity. It's like they want everyone to buy Starlink. I don't understand where we're headed.

We complain about fuel prices, inflation, lack of electricity, and water scarcity. Now, we can't even rely on internet data for online trading and hustling. Sometimes, I feel like network providers intentionally throttle connectivity, but to what end?

This country desperately needs a solution to move forward. With these challenges, it's getting frustrating. How's the network in your area? Its terrible in mine.

I don't know if it's just my area, but the network issues are persistent. We really need to find a way to move forward because, with all these things happening, man is getting frustrated living in Nigeria.

 It's disheartening that our Super Eagles were stranded at Al Abraq Airport in Libya for over 13 hours without food, internet access, or proper accommodation.

They had to forfeit the Morocco 2025 AFCON Qualifier return leg match,  on October 15, 2024,which was later delisted by CAF following the players' decision not to play the match, which is the respectable thing to do.

The neglect and abandonment they and their officials suffered at a remote Libyan airport is not proper and brings disrespect and insult to the entire nation.

This brings me to ask if; has Nigeria lost her face even to other African countries?

In times like this, when Nigerians are treated badly and left dejected by the sorry state of our country's affairs, I can help but ask, how do these other countries perceive us, really?

Leaving a whole national team stranded, haba that's the height of it

But while we await the outcome of an investigation ordered by CAF, I commend our team for their patriotism, bravery, and patience in the face of the unfair treatment by Libyans.

I just hope the incident will fuel their determination to fight to win the match whenever it takes place, to qualify for the Morocco 2025 AFCON, and to win the championship.

I believe Nigeria surely will rise ag
ain, all these downgrade and unfair treatment will end someday 😩

How do you feel as a Nigerian about the Nigeria - Libya incident?

Amazon announced that they will lay off managerial positions with the aim of saving  $3 billion annually. Some people heard about this; they were grumbling; it was on social media, talking about how hard it is to get a job in the tech space especially when you're laid off.

So Amazon CEO Andy Jassy in September said they will have a strict work-in-office policy. Usually, you could work remotely or hybrid, but now you have to be in the office Monday to Friday. 70% of workers already considered leaving because it didn't provide a good human experience; it wasn't prioritizing employee experience.

How do you ensure job security in a hard economic situation like this?

Now, for a company like Amazon to be laying workers off, and they're not the only one considering layoffs. Many companies want to reduce their workforce to save money. Personally, what does this mean for you?

For me, even with these layoffs, not everyone will lose their job. Amazon and other companies will keep valuable employees. This means that wherever you work, you must constantly improve yourself and give value unless you don't like your job and want to leave. Being valuable ensures job security, even in tough economic situations like now. If you're indispensable, companies won't let you go easily.

Does knowing about layoffs make you want to avoid corporate work?
 

Reference: https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/11/tech-layoffs-2024-list/

I've been left wondering about the state of the world after hearing about a team forfeiting their match due to a controversy surrounding a transgender player.

A game that demands professionalism has been tainted by personal sentiments, leading to a decision of forfeit.

“Boise State women volleyball team forfeited their match against San Jose State University, on September 28th  because of transgender team player Blaire Fleming. The Broncos will now compete today, Oct. 3 against Air Force.”

https://www.outkick.com/sports/boise-state-womens-volleyball-opts-no-contest-rather-than-playing-against-sjsu-trans-volleyball-player

My question is: is it right to have a transgender player in a biological team? Would you play in such circumstance?


In my opinion, creating a separate team for transgender individuals would promote inclusivity while respecting the biological differences between men and women.

Why include transgenders into women's teams, which can disturb the dynamics and fairness of the game?

If the goal is inclusivity, then I think having transgender teams compete against each other would foster equality and fairness in sports.

The world seems to be heading in a direction where sentiments override reason and fairness. I'm curious to hear your thoughts

Today, the Hamster airdrop project listed, and they listed 'dust'. Prior to this, there has been a lot of conversations and controversies from people about the project's legitness. A lot of people already said the project will not succeed because it has been showing signs of being a scam project.

They introduced keys as a major criteria and to get keys, they introduced playgrounds where you get to download multiple games to play with lots of ads to get keys. Towards token distribution, they introduced a new card in their achievement section that says cheating is bad, which led to banning people's accounts on the grounds of cheating, and some accounts that cheated were safe, so the allocations were not equal.

Also, considering they have a lot of population and their airdrop allocation to the community was not that much, a lot of people already cancelled out the project, but then some people were banking on Hamster, that if it works out, then they will continue mining Telegram airdrops, but if it doesn't, they are going to even go as far as deleting their Telegram account.

Now Hamster has listed and it listed at $0.01 and has even dropped with time to $0.008. This listing price is a lot of dust for the community farmers and has really discouraged a lot of people from continuing with Telegram airdrops. People had hope with Hamster, because they never expected the price to be this low.

 For me, I think a few sour airdrops should not discourage you from mining. Come to think of it, DOGS paid fairly.

The crypto space is a long-term game; if you must invest in it, give it time. It's not a get-rich-quick scheme, so be patient. If an airdrop doesn't pay as expected, try another; then, when you've made a certain amount of money from raindrops or your stable income, you can invest.

So, do you think there is still a future in Telegram airdrops? Should people still continue mining, or are all the Telegram airdrops scam projects to build their Telegram community and social media accounts? Should people focus more on Web3 airdrops, where there seems to be potential? Are Telegram airdrops just a bunch of scam projects to take people's time and even money?

A similar trait i have found with my Gen Z is that a lot of them hardly read abstract books that's not related to their area of specialty. its no longer like what was the case with most of our parents that read books on leadership, public speaking, studied the lifestyle of so many alpha personality in different fields and filled up their library with books from different areas of life. those books gave them in-debt knowledge on diverse areas.

my generation do more of YouTube and get additional aids through AI or chatGPT which mostly gives a shallow information compared to what's compiled in books.
            has the shift in the mode of getting knowledge and information affected how exposed this generation is to undaunted information?
            whats the effect of the decline in the reading culture among most youth?

The Paris Paralympics starts yesterday 28 August 2024  and is to run to 8 September 2024.
Participating teams includes;

NPA, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Vietnam, Venezuela, Uzbekistan, Uruguay, United States, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, Uganda, U.S Virgin Islands, turvalu, turkey, tonisia, Trinidad and Tobago, tongo, Togo, the Gambia, Tanzania, Tajikistan, Sao tome and Principe, Syria, Switzerland, Sweden, Suriname, srilanka, Spain, south sudan, south korea, Solomon Island, Slovenia, Slovakia, Singapore, sierealon, Serbia, Senegal, soudi Arabia, San Marino, saint Vincent, Rwanda, Romania, republic of Congo, quata, Purto riko, Portugal, Poland, philipins, Peru, Palestine, Pakistan, Panama, Norway, Nigeria, New Zealand, Australia etc.

Most of these nations are not popular in the main Olympics or even the world cup but are part of the Paralympics.
Is anyone following the ongoing Paralympics?

I just bought a fairly used laptop and they had to do some updates on the system before eventually giving it to me. I know most times that even after buying a brand new phone in most of our malls, the next thing they ask is if you would want them to run some update on the phone so everything will work perfectly well.

It might be the ideal thing to do but I'm curious to know this, is there any potential risk associated with allowing them run an update on your system or mobile phone you just bought?

Is it possible that in the process of doing the update, they might take advantage and install some malware that can become a potential threat to your security and maybe expose your password or even serve as a means of stealing your crypto?

It will be nice to get your opinion on this most expecially from those that are better inclined on some technicalities associated with doing basic update on system.

If an economy is bad it's assumed that it's because the leaders of the country do not set right economic policies in place.

If a nation is at war it's assumed that it's because of the decision of the leaders.

If the educational system is faulty it's assumed that it's because of the decision of the leaders and even when a country is doing well in the global stage in sports, academics and other areas, it's still all about the leaders.

Is it the leaders of a country that makes them good, bad, at peace or in war? Or is it the led who are the majority that determines what becomes of a nation.

[Enjoy me now that the season hasn't started oh, once the season starts, it's between me and football.]

Have you heard these kind of statement; "Enjoy me now that the season hasn't started oh, once the season starts, it's between me and football. I've heard and seen a lot of those where people adjust a lot of thier schedules once the season is in full action.

An example is in a local football pitch that's close to my residence, once the season starts, most of the sporting events that happens from 4pm starts experiencing scanty turn up because most of the EPL matches always happens at such time and fans can't afford to miss it for any reason.

There are stories that some husbands get mood swing a lot when thier favourite team don't win games which can even affect how they relate with the wife.

There are people that will even stop coming to church weekly activity once the season starts because it conflicts with the time they will normally use in watching matches. These are just the least of the schedules that gets low turn up and changes once the season starts and for some cases it affect businesses, families and some social gatherings negatively.

Have you observed this kind of trend and can you share your personal experience on how new football season has affected your schedule.

Money left at hand or in the bank is a liability and this is the reason why the subject of investment can't be overemphasized because investment is the only way to convert your cash into a valuable asset.

Investment doesn't work independently of trading. Before you invest, you first have to trade, and that's the key principle of a successful investment "You have to know what to trade for what"

 So here's how it works, you have to learn how to trade a less valuable item for a more valuable one. When we convert our fiat to Bitcoin, we are in essence trading what's less valuable for what is of value in the future. And there are lots of other instances like this.

It could be as gradual as trading your sleepless nights in school for knowledge and then trading the knowledge for some fiat and then trading the fiat for an affordable physical asset and then you can trade the physical asset for a good digital asset class like Bitcoin or something of that nature. The whole scope is to be ready to do away with an inferior item for a more superior one.

[1. You only lose when you sell]

These are some about Bitcoin and Bitcoin investment I have observed, what's your thought?

1. You only lose when you sell: though this sounds a bit contradictory, it's true. Although the market went down some days back, if you held your Bitcoin and didn't sell, the effect of the market condition wouldn't get to you which still supports my statement that it's only those who sold that lost. Not as though you wouldn't sell at all but at what time you choose to sell determines if you will lose or gain from your Bitcoin investments.

2. Bitcoin is for everyone but Bitcoin investment isn't: yeah, as tough as this is, it's still another fact you have to understand. Although everyone can use Bitcoin as a decentralized means of transaction, It's not everyone that can invest in Bitcoin. Those who are still struggling with their finance and those who aren't disciplined enough to accumulate a good amount of Bitcoin and still stay comfortable in the different market conditions shouldn't invest in Bitcoin. If they do, they will end up selling when they ought not to and end up being in loss.

3. Bitcoin is not a means to financial freedom:
this is yet another truth most newcomers miss. It wasn't created for such purpose and can never serve as a means to your financial freedom regardless of it volatile nature that's now a serious subject of discuss. You don't get involved in Bitcoin as though it's a full time job that will secure what your financial life will look like in the future. In a more direct way, if you're not financially strong before getting into Bitcoin investments, it's going to eat you up and you will have to take your exit before you even notice. For you to get the best out of Bitcoin, you have to look at it as a store of value first before considering it as asset that will yield tremendous profit in the future.

4. For Bitcoin to succeed well, it will experience some level of compromises: though Bitcoin is decentralized and independent of any central authority, buying Bitcoin using centralized exchange and accepting that Private institution and big exterblishment should hold Bitcoin will im one way or the other trigger a need for some level of compromise with regards Bitcoin being totally decentralized. This thread will explain it better . Here

Which of these do you disagree with? And what other salient Bitcoin investment fact is is relevant to be known but mostly ignored?

Why is it that local and internal wars aren't mostly showcased On most international media platforms like aljezera, CNN, BBC and even  national channels that's popular and accessible to the global community?  A lot of serious conflicts like the Russia Ukraine war and the Israel Palestinian crisis have gotten the attention and sympathy of the global community while internal crisis have lasted for years and have led to the killing of thousands of people untill it has almost become a routine and yet it seems to have gotten less than the required attention.

What about sharing your experience on some internal wars that's going on in your region that is very pronounce and serious and yet the global community is unaware of it?

I tried out something while I was watching some games in the ongoing Olympics and this is what I did;

I looked out for sports I wasn't conversant with the athletes and didn't  know who was better at the sports and did a random prediction on the outcome of the game. I did it for swimming competition and some random boxing yesterday and out of up to 7 predictions I made, almost 6 went the way I predicted it.

It reminds me of writing an objective examination in high school and when you're done with the questions you're certain of, and you just do some random selections and luck could shine on you and you get up to 70% from your rough prediction.

I have not tried this in real games that involves using money but would want to know if anyone has ever tried it before.

Have you ever placed a bet by just doing random guesses on the outcome of the game?

[What inspired this thread?]

Do you know that apart from those in the digital sector, a lot of others are still HODling their wealth in fiat form in banks? The negative effect of doing this is too much that it doesn't benefit you a single bit.

On the one hand, HODling fiat in banks subject it to inflation and exposes it to government policy that could hit against it at the time you least expect. Inflation stands strong on the other edge and makes your fiat almost valueless at the time you want to take it out.

What inspired this thread? A publication just came out from the CBN that all banks and other financial institutions are to transfer all dormant accounts unclaimed balances and other financial assets to their dedicated accounts. In other words, all dormant accounts ranging from those of dead persons to others that owners used in HODLing their fiat till when it's convenient for them to use it for a project would be sent to the federal government account. source

These all reveal the inefficiency and lack of control of users' funds and assets in a centralized system. The decentralized system is a blessing to all and solves most of the issues like this that's  associated with the centralized institutions.

I'm curious to know this, how was the forum before signature campaign became a thing in the forum? I know it's possible that a lot of people are active almost everyday on the forum and are iether engaging in real discussions or sometimes trying to meet up with thier post requirements and a lot of others like myself whose journey is still at the development phase would want to get some sort of encouragement that will keep us going with or without being a part of any signature campaign.

I just want to know, what was the engagement like in the forum discussion before signature campaign and how has the Advent of signature campaign affected the forum? Is it positively or negatively?

Should there cease to be signature campaign on the forum, what's likely the effect it will have on an average member of the forum?