Fixing cars is an 8 to 5 occupation. If you're not in the shop you can't be producing anything. Software development is as much an issue of understanding as it is execution - until you understand the problem you can't design a fix, and once you understand how to fix a problem it is, in some cases, a few minutes at the keyboard and you're done. Of course, sometimes it's also a recognition you used the wrong language and architecture, and have to start over.
What it sounds like is you're working for an organization that doesn't know how to manage creative talent in general, or software developers in particular. If the HR emails are resulting in pay getting docked or negative reviews, the fairly immediate consequence is that people leave. Any time I find myself in that situation I usually bail - employers confuse punctuality with effectiveness.