It’s bad enough having your boss catch you sleeping on the job. But when your boss is a knight and global entrepreneurial giant, you’d think it would mean an on-the-spot sacking.

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But true to form, when Virgin Group founder Richard Branson toured the Virgin Australia offices and chanced upon a staff member asleep, his reaction was characteristically unconventional and off-beat.

Mr Branson posed with the employee for a picture and then put up a post on his Virgin.com blog.

“I popped into the office and the airport to say hello and check in to see what the team are up to. This guy wasn’t up to much at all – I caught him sleeping on the job! Wow, did he get a shock when I woke him up. He must have thought he was dreaming because he went straight back to sleep. To be fair, he was on standby, getting some much needed rest.”