You already assured them you don't need to have your time or plans respected or to be treated like a human. I am baffled at the idea they would even imagine an obligation to you.

The correct way to compensate people for unpaid overtime periods is equivalent periods of fewer hours. That's what salary is supposed to mean. You speak as though it is a privilege working "only normal hours."

I've worked where this actually was the attitude, especially the "Yes, boss, anything you say, boss!" expectation, and it is truly a pervasive and debilitating disease. It is wrong beyond words and no one should tolerate it or let their effort support the business and finances of those that maintain it.

It's amazing that it's 2011 and IT people are still afraid to figure out how to implement a sufficiently honest union.

As for the OP, your employer buys your time and effort from you. He asking you to let him buy it with "Wah, but I *really* want to be profitable already!" Head over to GameStop and see how many PS3 games you can get for "My boss wants profitability to be easier."

You've forgotten the actual background: Puritans came from the Church. They thought the Catholics were bad because they were too loose and immoral. So, yes, that can be Catholic and Puritan doctrine, with the Puritans being the absurdly hyperbolic version. They are called Puritans because they wanted to "purify" the church. They were profoundly annoying.