It's what I say, with aÂ falseÂ air of facetiousness (because I'm serious), when facing a demand to explain what I doÂ at gunpoint: we're speeding up science -- that's our job. Or perhaps we're just fighting its natural tendency to move slowly -- two-forward-one-back-style.

As for working the weekends (when not required to by an experiment or something), presenteeism is pernicious nonsense and to ladle pseudo-guilt distilled from this imperfect world onto the shoulders of postdocs is execrable ("Little X hugs her favourite teddy as life slips from her fragile frame, meanwhile you drink beer and play pool"? -- sick). My brain, for one, doesn't stop working outside the lab/office; in fact when I let me hands rest, my brain works better. Perhaps the original poster should sleep on that.