If you dream of working flexible hours, be warned: South Africa is not ready to make it come true. Local labour experts believe workplaces and managers are "backward" when it comes to the idea of a working environment that allows people to deviate from the traditional nine-to-five pattern.New research by a US firm found that employees who work flexi hours showed high job satisfaction and less burnout and stress. Employees said they had more control over their schedules and could spend more time with family.Although other research suggests that productivity shoots up, experts say South Africa remains reluctant to embrace the idea."My assessment is that South Africa isn't ready for flexi-hour work," said Johannesburg labour expert Mike Miles."In certain areas, like IT, you may be able to accommodate it, but we still have a long way to go."A lack of trust between employers and employees added to the problem of working flexi times, he said.Cape Town labour attorney Michael Bagraim said South African businesses had a "very traditional" way of operating."For some reason we haven't accepted what is going on in the modern world," said Bagraim.The experts agreed that flexible hours were a particular problem in unionised environments."People haven't internalised that some people need to work flexi hours or want to work flexi hours. Even in factory or production circumstances, you need to have a buy-in. Trade unions are suspicious about this," Bagraim said.One of the sociologists behind the US study, Phyllis Moen of the University of Minnesota, said workers who were allowed a say in their hours of work "feel better about their jobs ... and are more efficient and more productive"...