If You Need to Work Better, Maybe Try Working Less

-Lao Tzu, "Tao Te Ching"

From anecdotal experience, some of those (in a typical corporate environment) who trump their 'working overtime' don't do much during 'normal' working hours.

I talked to a guy in an airport security line once, and he was a million-mile frequent flier. He related how he took his entire family (wife, kids, extended family - 20 in total) to Hawaii on Marriott Rewards points and frequent flier miles. You could tell the unspoken fact was that two weeks they spent together was probably the most time he's spent with them in years. Working hard seems to be a badge of honor nowadays but is it really something that fulfills you?

1. The research result that a small amount of offtime, e.g. "In the Boston Consulting study ... guarantee each consultant one uninterrupted evening free each week", "can yield unexpected on-the-job benefits"

and

2. Examples of employees taking much longer times off, e.g. "staffers are expected to leave in time for dinner" (presumably every work day, and probably only 5 work days per week), and ""wellness scorecards" to track whether employees are working too much overtime"

Without diminishing the importance of prioritisation, the article doesn't reveal anything about offtime any longer than a very limited "one uninterrupted evening free each week".