[rusty__]

Do you think there would be a perception that I (a client) paying 100% rate for a project where people only 80% switched on will lead to a feeling that I'm only getting 80% "quality" or 80% of what it could be. (I work in a creative industry).

[shard]

Employees working 80% does not mean that the company output has to be reduced to 80%. With the salary reduction, for every 4 employees there would be roughly enough cost reduction to hire another employee, bringing the output to approximately what it was before.

[billytetrud]

More hours don't translate directly to higher quality or higher output in creative fields. You might actually produce higher quality stuff if you work less. This is pretty well documented at this point

[b3morales]

The understanding of what a 100% rate meant would (have to) be different.