579, you said....Why did butch go home after three hours, i am sure there is something else he could have done. The boss employs you for 8 hours so why leave.

You see that was the problem, when I arrived for work, there was a normal 8 hours of work ahead of me, however, I worked very hard and finished the allotted work in 5&1/2 hours and, I was sent home.

This is where the system breaks down, and the standard is set by the lowest denominator. I did the 8 hours work, but got shafted.

Had I have slowed my pace, I would have been paid more, simply because I took longer.

And the powers to be sit there wondering why productivity is in decline, the answer is simple, you don't get rewarded for your hard efforts, so many simply slow down and stretch their work out.

I am not sure where productivity comes into that. If that is what is required by the boss in a day, so be it. It's probably a matter of what he can move in a day. One thing is dependent on another.

Are you for real 579!

It has everything to do with productivity, because, if one is capable of producing much more than the next person, yet get paid the same in an 8 hour day, they usually slow down, as they think, why bother, it's not as if the extra effort is appreciated.

Of cause, as I have already said, it does not apply to all industries or workplaces.

You say...Employers still have the right to hire anyone they like as far as i know.

WRONG! You can no longer let a worker go, in favor of a better worker.

.... A fair day work for a fair days pay. So what is the matter with that. Eight hours of time per day to the employer is normal.

Yes, but if an eight hour day means eight hours of tasks, but you achieve it in say five or six, why shouldn't you get paid for what you've done?

Address this problem and productivity will rise.

I thought we were talking about butcher shops. But now the goal posts are shifting.
Productivity is not for all occasions. Where productivity is needed they pay for no of items over a specified limit.
Manufacturing is for productivity, not how many hamburgers you can make / minute.
No one can do eight hours work in six, the employer wants you there for eight hours so its up to you to fit in.
Employers are best to choose wisely, if they are looking for a more productive worker.
Isn't that the difference between full time and part time employment.
Your services are required for eight hours.

I am simply using a butcher shop as an example, as this scenario can apply to many workplaces.

Chicken boning is a prime example, whereby the employer used to pay per bird, whereas now many have turned to paying per hour and, as a result they struggle to find efficient boners, as a normal boner should bone around 45 birds per hour, whereas a good boner can bone up to 80 per hour.

So, if the quota for the day is say 360 birds per day,( 8 hours x 45 birds), the slow boner gets paid for the full eight hours, while the fast boner only gets paid for 4.5 hours because he/she has run out of work and gets sent home.

So natually the fast boner slows his/her pace and there goes the productivity.

If you reward strong workers for their efforts, productivity will increase.

Of cause the trouble is that unions often become involved and cry fowl, because their aim is usually to protect the weaker workers, keep a check on productivity, in an attempt to preserve jobs.