Is there a single word for "taking (or take) one for the team"?

Question

Is there a single word that sums up "taking one for the team"?

In this instance specifically doing work alone that would normally be done by a small group, so that others can rest.

• Loyalty
• Dedication
• Integrity
• Sacrifice

all seem to (me to) be sub-par.

Answer 1

There are a few that would qualify: selflessness, self-denial, self-sacrifice, self-abnegation, etc. They all mean something like this [from NOAD]:

selflessness
adjective
concerned more with the needs and wishes of others than with one's own; unselfish: an act of selfless devotion.

Answer 2

1. take one for the team
   The act of someone willingly making a sacrifice for the benefit of others.

Example: There wasn't enough room in the car, so Jerry decided to take one for the team and stayed behind while the rest of us went to the big concert.

wingman, team player, sacrificial lamb, good sport, buddy

self-abnegation n

the denial of one's own interests in favour of the interests of others self-abnegating adj

self-renunciation n

the renunciation of one's own rights, claims, interest, etc., esp in favour of those of others self-renunciatory adj

Answer 3

• workhorse, "Anyone or thing that does a lot of work; who works consistently or regularly."
• spearhead, "One who leads or initiates an activity" [Also see point or point-man, quarterback, matador, etc.]
• martyr, "somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce... a belief or cause" ["The hero continues, despite knowing the risk, out of commitment to the cause" is listed as characteristic of martyrs]
• lead dog, "one of the dogs at the front of the team, who set the pace"
• mainspring, in sense "The most important reason for something", might refer to one who has been a main driver for a project
• yeoman, as in yeoman effort, refers to one who has "performed or rendered in a loyal, valiant, useful, or workmanlike manner, especially in situations that involve a great deal of effort or labor"

Of course none of the above precisely mean "doing work alone that would normally be done by a small group, so that others can rest", but some suggest hard, faithful, or important work being done, and calling a worker a martyr suggests sacrifice on his or her part. Helot may suggest working like a slave in spite of personal risk, but to some extent suggests a cog, lackey, flunkey, slave, dogsbody.