In a pulley, the ideal mechanical advantage is equal to the number of rope segments pulling up on the object. The more rope segments that are helping to do the lifting work, the less force that is needed for the job.
It would take 1 painter 32 hours to paint a house (because 4*8=32). If we divide 32 by 12 we get 3, so no, it is not a direct variation because if it was it would only take 3 hours for the 12 painters to paint the house.
