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Richard Branson busts Virgin employee ‘napping’ on the job

Richard Branson has not only caught an employee napping on the job, he took a photo of the faux pas and then blogged about it.

Recently on a trip down under the Virgin founder busted an employee sleeping on a couch while he was touring at the company's Australian office.

As part of the blog Branson mused, “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!

“There were certainly smiles, and laughter, all round at Virgin Australia,” Richard said in his blog. Source: Virgin Australia.
“There were certainly smiles, and laughter, all round at Virgin Australia,” Richard said in his blog. Source: Virgin Australia.

“Wow, did he get a shock when I woke him up,” the billionaire blogged.

“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.”

In his introduction to the blog Branson wrote, “It’s always great to travel to Australia. Every time I step off the plane at Sydney airport, I kick myself for not having booked to stay for a month.

“Having just spent a few days visiting our wonderful companies, I can say that the spirit of Virgin is alive and well Down Under.

Billionaire Branson has also been known for thinking outside the corporate box and his management methods are often described as unorthodox.

Branson recently revealed he has never had a desk.

“Having just spent a few days visiting our wonderful companies, I can say that the spirit of Virgin is alive and well Down Under,” Richard said in his blog. Source: Virgin Australia.
“Having just spent a few days visiting our wonderful companies, I can say that the spirit of Virgin is alive and well Down Under,” Richard said in his blog. Source: Virgin Australia.

"There are five main places I have worked day-in, day-out over the years, and you will notice that an office is nowhere to be seen on the list," writes Richard Branson in a recent Virgin blog post.

"I've never had a proper desk, never worked out of an office, and certainly never clocked in."

In his early days, Branson put out his Student magazine from a family friend's basement and then a church crypt.

He later ran his Virgin empire out of a houseboat in a London canal near Virgin offices, then his family home in London, and, most recently, Necker Island, Branson's private Caribbean island, where he spends half the year.

Throughout his more than 50-year career, all of Branson's flexible workplaces have had something crucial in common: people could come and go as they pleased.

His popular blog is read by millions and the image of the ‘napping’ worker has since gone viral.

News break – June 9