Caught on Camera: Actors, Politicians Fall Asleep on the Job Well, you knew this was coming. Co-workers sleeping on the job. What's their excuse? You're about to hear it. And the sharks from "Shark tank" have a message for them. Reporter: There's no greater risk to your career than falling asleep on the job. For "Shark tank"'s Robert herjavec, who's amassed $100 million in his waking hours, downtime at the office is unheard of. You don't get to be a shark by snoozing. If you snooze, you lose. Reporter: But for today's overworked employee, not getting enough sleep can really take a toll, even if he can't. Hey! Reporter: Even movie stars plugging their own movies sometimes need an unexpected rest, like on this Seattle morning show. Western -- we were in the audience last night. Good morning. Reporter: And remarkably, live news anchors have been caught snoozing, such as this one from the bbzzz. And this radio host didn't drop the Mike, he dropped onto it. Even law enforcement isn't immune. This surfaced this week on our San Francisco station KGO. A trucker found a park ranger sawing wood with a beverage accomplice. There's a state parks guy here and I can't wake the guy up. Reporter: And not even being photographed could wake up this alleged burglar, who catnapped his way into custody after the homeowner's house cleaner found him clasping this sack of jewels while bagging some Zs. There's a man in there laying on the bed and I'm scared. Please hurry so we can catch him. Reporter: Falling asleep on the job doesn't usually get you arrested. He's pled not guilty, but it can get you fired or teased on TV. We've bored the scoreboard operator to sleep. I am sorry pal. Your supervisor will be calling you shortly. Reporter: It's worse for time zone criss-crossing politicians expected to be ever alert waiting to speak or listening to a speech. Maryland governor martin O'Malley nodded off during a meeting with constituents. Tracey Eno says she had spent weeks preparing a speech opposing a natural gas export facility. I was really excited to be there, because I thought, finally, you know, here's the opportunity to get the message across. Then it occurred to me, he's dozing off. I was really angry. Hello, you know, wake up. Here. Pay attention to me now. Reporter: At the time O'Malley's spokesperson told Maryland's "Daily record" he was listening intently during the six-hour meeting, and he's only human. Recent sleep studies would open anyone's eyes. Getting enough sleep improves cognition, memory and creativity. Great, but what about, you know, money? Overachieving entrepreneurs like the "Shark tank" crew insist that advocates for getting seven to nine hours of bed rest a night are full of sheets. There isn't enough hours in the day to get the stuff I need done, so I trained myself to sleep four hours a night. Anybody can do it. You kind of work 24/7. You sleep because you need to and have to. I'd rather be tired than broke. Reporter: In short, do your bleeping job! But for the rest of us, lack of sleep can seem like a permanent component of any job these days. I look around here and I think, this is the perfect workspace for the 21st century, right? How sleepy are we? There was an hr study that recently called it an epidemic. Wait, I want to, just -- Reporter: Cynthia Shapiro, a former human resources executive turned career coach and author, is wise in the ways of today's high-powered companies and says some of them want you sleep-deprived and work-obsessed. She cautions even if they provide a nap room for the weary, be wary. Don't use them. Reporter: It's a trap? It's a trap. In order to use it safely, it has to be a super obvious, work-related reason. Everyone in the company needs to know that you just got off a red eye flight, or you had -- you were up all night doing a presentation. Reporter: That sounds like more work than just staying up. I agree. Reporter: Some people fall asleep for health or medical reasons, but no matter what the cause, Cynthia suggests if you cause, Cynthia suggests if you got to doze, get out of dodge. Tell your boss you forgot about a dentist appointment, or you have to go pick something up, run an errand. Go sleep in your car. Go sleep in your car? Sleep in your car, set an alarm so you don't oversleep and don't let them see you sleeping. Reporter: But what if you just can't get away? Cynthia Shapiro showed me a canny tongue in cheek cubicle cover-up to disguise drowsiness. Remember the governor "Listening intently?" Let's call it "The ponder." You want to have some important papers in front of you, you basically put your head on your hand and make sure it's pretty secure, and then you can close your eyes. Yeah, and if someone, you know, comes up and says, "Chris, what are you doing?" Oh, I was pondering, I was deep in thought. Yeah, these Numbers, they gotta add up. Yeah, exactly. Reporter: But a handful of companies fully embrace the idea that their employees need to be refreshed. Time to shut the engines down for a little bit. Reporter: Google's nap pods are a popular perk, at least in the movies. What would I do without these babies? Reporter: And Arianna Huffington, who sold her Huffington post to aol for $315 million, is a big advocate of a good night's rest. Sleep your way to the top. Reporter: Touting the upside of downtime. Being busy, being always on, has been seen as a badge of honor. That is changing, and you know why? Because I feel so good after eight hours of sleep and I enjoy my day. Reporter: And it turns out that even sharks need a little shut-eye. You don't know how to run a company. Reporter: When mark Cuban caught fellow shark Kevin o'leary cat-napping, he pounced. Yeah, I took a picture and I instagrammed it out, so yeah, Kevin is definitely a napper. Reporter: The truth comes out.