Most of us consider working hard a virtue. We value and admire those who work endlessly and rarely take time for themselves. We come by our devotion to work honestly. We are taught from an early age that in order to achieve goals and make something of ourselves, we need to work hard and that hard work is a virtue.

The reality is that there are times in our working lives when we feel it is important to go that extra mile to show our value to employers, teachers, or mentors. Going above and beyond what is expected of us signals our value as an employee, our commitment to a task or goal, and our willingness to do what needs to be done to get ahead.

There are times when going that extra mile or burning the midnight oil to make that impossible deadline is counterproductive. As many a productive high achiever will tell you, the employee........

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