The purpose of this thesis is to find out the reasons and perhaps some answers to the problem as we see it, the sickness benefit expiration of those who experience this. By this said we have also taken into account the different laws and adjustments in the long-term sickness benefit, but also major reformation of the security net in the Swedish society. The efficiency of the law on passive long-term sickness absence was added in July 2008, but was later in January 2010 supplemented. The purpose of this law wasn’t only to reduce the long-term sickness absence but also to reduce exclusion. These changes had also been highlighted by the media that people were actually being excluded from the society. It creates marginalization. The aim of this study is to highlight individuals' feelings about the whole performing hedge process. The survey was conducted through semi-structured interviews where we wanted a deeper knowledge of the interviewee’s experiences. In order to give the interviewee the opportunity and possibility to form their own mind and own reflections and express their own thoughts, the questions were open for answers. This allowed us to ask supplementary questions. After collecting the empirical data we did a breakdown in the following three themes: the experiences of the sickness absence, the experiences by the response of the concerned authorities. The theories chosen in this study are stigma, social exclusion, sense of coherence (SOC) and sick role. The economic exclusion creates social exclusion where as the sense of shame among the interviewee’s increase. By this said, the interviewee’s are not able to participate actively in the social activities to the same extent, but also they cannot provide for themselves. This can obviously lead to increased risk for mental illness. In our analysis we aim to discuss our issues based on the experiences for the interviewees’.

Syfte: Syftet med denna studie var att kartlägga långtidssjukskrivnas hälsa före och efter avslutad intervention samt studera vilka faktorer som hindrat alternativt främjat återgång i arbete hos individer med tidsbegränsad sjukersättning. Metod: Studien baseras på data från EU-projektet ”SAMKLANG” som är en longitudinell interventionsstudie. Data har samlats in på 59 långtidssjukskrivna deltagare via enkäter både före projektstart och ett år efter och dels har data samlats in kvalitativt genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med 13 deltagare efter det att projektet avslutats. Intervjudeltagarna var indelade i två grupper (de som hade återgått i arbete/studier och de som fortfarande var sjukskrivna). Interventionen bygger på både behandling och samverkan mellan organisationer som är involverade i rehabilitering av personer som har ett år kvar av sin tid i sjukersättning. Resultatet från enkäterna analyserades fram via ANOVA upprepad mätning och data från intervjuerna analyserades via innehållsanalys. Resultat: Huvudresultaten från den kvantitativa delstudien visade att det inte fanns någon skillnad mellan de som efter ett år återgått i arbete/studier, arbetsträning alternativt de som fortfarande var sjukskrivna gällande kön, ålder eller utbildningsnivå. Den självskattade depressions- och ångestnivån minskade och självskattad hälsa och inre kontroll ökade signifikant över tid för den grupp som kommit ut i arbete efter projektet jämfört med de två andra grupperna. Den kvalitativa analysen av intervjuerna identifierade följande tema som stödjande faktorer för arbetsåtergång: att besitta egen drivkraft, ha en insikt om arbetets mervärde och att hitta en balans mellan krav- kontroll-stöd. Det tema som beskriver hur myndigheter kan hjälpa och stödja långtidssjukskrivna tillbaks i arbete är: trygghet med mer vårdkompetens och att synliggöra individuella behov. Slutsats: Att återgå i arbete för en tidigare långtidssjukskriven person kopplas till bättre självrapporterad hälsa med mindre depression och ångestbesvär, en starkare känsla av inre kontroll och en högre tilltro till egen förmåga jämfört med om personer fortfarande är sjukskrivna. Framgångsfaktorer för arbetsåtergång är balans mellan krav, kontroll och stöd för individen och en egen motivation att återgå i arbete. För att underlätta arbetsåtergång hos långtidssjukskrivna bör myndigheter och inblandade parter samverka med vård, erbjuda trygghet och synliggöra varje enskild individs behov av rehabilitering. / Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate long term sickness absentees’ health status before and after an intervention. Furthermore, to gain deeper understanding of factors related to promoting and preventing return to work for people with limited sick leave compensation. Method: The study is based on data from the EU-funded project ”SAMKLANG” which is a longitudinal intervention study. Data has been collected from 59 long term absentees though questionnaires conducted before and one year after the start of the project. Data has also been collected through semi structured interviews from 13 participants after the end of the project. They were divided into two groups (those who had returned to work/studies or had an internship and those who still were sickness absent). The intervention is based on treatment as well as cooperation between organizations involved in a rehabilitation process for people with one year of sick leave compensation remaining. The results from the surveys were analyzed with ANOVA for repeated measures and data from the interviews were analyzed using content analysis. Result: The main result from the quantitative part of this study showed no significant difference in return to work between those who had returned to work or studies, been on internships and those who still were sickness absent based on sex, age and education. The amount of self-rated depression and anxiety levels were reduced and the self-rated health and internal control were significant induced over time for the group who returned to work after the project compared to the other two groups. From the qualitative analyze of the interviews following theme was identified as supporting factors for returning to work: having own motivation, realized the positive in having a job and to have balance between demand-control-support. The theme that describes how the authority can help and support people with long term sickness absence back to work is: security with more competence in healthcare and make individual needs visible. Conclusion: Return to work for a former long term sickness absence is associated with better self-rated health with less depression and anxiety, a stronger feeling of internal control and a higher self-efficacy compared to if persons still were sickness absent. Factors for success in return to work is balance between demand-control-support for the individual and an own motivation to return to work. The authority can facilitate return to work among people with long term sickness absence by interact more with health-care services, offer security and make every individuals need for rehabilitation visible.

Syftet med studien är att skapa en djupare förståelse för vilka faktorer som upplevs främja återgången till arbete efter en långtidssjukskrivning vid psykisk ohälsa, utifrån den sjukskrivnes perspektiv. Studien baseras på Karaseks och Theorells modell som består av krav och kontroll samt en teoriutveckling av socialt stöd i förhållande till krav och kontroll av Jeffery Johnson. Studien baseras även på teorin ”Känsla av sammanhang”, förkortat KASAM, som utvecklats av Aaron Antonovsky. För att få en djupare förståelse för vilka faktorer som upplevs främja återgången till arbete efter en långtidssjukskrivning vid psykisk ohälsa genomfördes samtalsintervjuer med fem personer. Resultatet i studien visar att stöd och kommunikation med arbetsgivare och kollegor är en framgångsfaktor vid återgången till arbetet. Det framkommer även i studien att arbetsträning är en framgångsfaktor men kan hämma återgången om den inte är verklighetsförankrad. Deltagare i studien menar att lägre krav och högre egenkontroll är främjande i återgångsprocessen. Slutligen framkommer det även att återgången underlättas när individen känner tillhörighet till arbetsplatsen och arbetsgruppen. / The aim of the study is to create a deeper understanding of which factors perceived to promote the return to work after a long-term sickness in mental health, based on the perspective of the sick-listed. The study is based on Karaseks and Theorells model consisting of demand, control and a theory development of social support in relation to demand and control by Jeffery Johnson. The study is also based on the theory ”a Sense of Coherence”, abbreviated KASAM, developed by Aaron Antonovsky. In order to gain a deeper understanding of which factors perceived to promote the return to work after a long-term sickness in mental ill-health, five interviews were conducted. The results in this study shows that support and communication with employers and colleagues is a success factor when returning to work. It also appears in the study that job training is a success factor but can inhibit the return if it is not reality-based. Participants in this study argues that lower demands and higher self-control are promotions in the return process. Finally, it also emerges that the return is facilitated when the individual feel a sense of coherence to the workplace and the working group.

p. 1-136 / Submitted by Santiago Fabio (fabio.ssantiago@hotmail.com) on 2013-04-25T18:55:35Z No. of bitstreams: 1 77777777777777.pdf: 986333 bytes, checksum: 91fbaac7375c1ea35f4b2c4892321d83 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Creuza Silva(mariakreuza@yahoo.com.br) on 2013-05-04T17:19:59Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 77777777777777.pdf: 986333 bytes, checksum: 91fbaac7375c1ea35f4b2c4892321d83 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-05-04T17:19:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 77777777777777.pdf: 986333 bytes, checksum: 91fbaac7375c1ea35f4b2c4892321d83 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / O aumento da frequência de licenças para tratamento da saúde no setor público tem se constituído em um importante problema de saúde pública, tanto pelo aumento dos custos diretos e indiretos que representam para o governo e o contribuinte como pela pouca atenção à área da saúde do trabalhador e pelos danos causados a saúde do servidor e à sua família em razão do adoecimento. O estudo teve por objetivo descrever o perfil do absenteísmo por doença considerando a duração do afastamento, estimar a sua prevalência e identificar os fatores sócio-demográficos e funcionais associados ao maior percentual do absenteísmo-doença em uma Instituição Federal de Ensino Superior na Bahia. Trata-se de um estudo de corte transversal, descritivo com base de dados secundários, envolvendo 5.312 servidores públicos ativos e 1.283 ocorrências de licenças médicas para tratamento da saúde,ambos os sexos, durante o ano de 2006. A duração do afastamento foi categorizada em dois grupos de afastamento ausências de curta duração (15 a 47 dias) e ausências de longa duração (48 dias e mais). Os dados institucionais foram obtidos da base de dados do Sistema Integrado de Administração de Recursos Humanos–SIAPE e as informações das ocorrências de afastamentos foram obtidas pelo sistema de ocorrências funcionais da Instituição. O diagnóstico da causa mórbida foi obtido a partir de registros nos prontuários no Serviço Médico da Instituição e classificado segundo a CID-10, foram comparados com a lista de doenças relacionadas ao trabalho elaborada pelo Ministério da Saúde. As variáveis foram analisadas por meio de distribuições de freqüências e medidas descritivas (media, desvio padrão e mediana). Para verificar as associações foram utilizados os testes estatísticos Chi-quadrado de Pearson ou o Teste Exato de Fischer. As associações entre os fatores sócio-demográficos e funcionais e a ocorrência de licenças foram expressas por meio de razões de chances (OR) e seus respectivos intervalos de confiança, ajustados por idade. O nível de significância adotado em todas as análises estatísticas foi de 5% (p ≤ 0,05). Foram calculados e expressos os indicadores sugeridos pelo Subcomitê de Absenteísmo da Sociedade Internacional de Saúde Ocupacional: o total de dias perdidos por doença, a freqüência à gravidade e a duração média dos episódios. Foi calculado o índice de absenteísmo (IA). A prevalência de absenteísmo-doença na IFE foi de 8%, representou 43.031 dias perdidos por doença, sendo maior entre as mulheres 10,3% e 5% entre os homens. O Índice de absenteísmo global foi 2,2%, entre os homens 1,9%, entre as mulheres 2,5%. A duração média dos episódios foi de 33,5 dias, entre os homens 40,4 dias e entre as mulheres 30,5 dias. Os principais grupos de causas das licenças foram atribuídos às doenças do sistema osteomuscular e do tecido conjuntivo (34,5%), transtornos mentais e comportamentais (24,9%), neoplasias (9,3%), envenenamentos e outras conseqüências de causas externas (9,3%), doenças do aparelho circulatório (7,4%) e somados os grupos de menor frequência (14,5%). A associação entre fatores sociodemográficos e funcionais foram significantes para o sexo, grupo etario, escolaridade, tempo na instituição, grupo de atividade e local de trabalho. Os afastamentos de longa duração representaram 50% do total de indivíduos que solicitaram afastamento, cujo diagnóstico tivemos acesso, representou 4% do total de servidores ativos. Essas ocorrências representaram 33.290 dias perdidos por doença, 77,4% do total global de dias perdidos por doença. Os resultados apresentados neste estudo confirmam a importante contribuição dos fatores sociodemográficos e funcionais associados à ocorrência de licenças na instituição, bem como a magnitude e variabilidade destas associações. Apontam para a importante contribuição da causa do afastamento na gravidade do absenteísmo por doença na Instituição, para ambos os sexos. O aumento da frequência de licenças para tratamento da saúde no setor público tem se constituído em um importante problema de saúde pública, tanto pelo aumento dos custos diretos e indiretos que representam para o governo e o contribuinte como pela pouca atenção à área da saúde do trabalhador e pelos danos causados a saúde do servidor e à sua família em razão do adoecimento. O estudo teve por objetivo descrever o perfil do absenteísmo por doença considerando a duração do afastamento, estimar a sua prevalência e identificar os fatores sócio-demográficos e funcionais associados ao maior percentual do absenteísmo-doença em uma Instituição Federal de Ensino Superior na Bahia. Trata-se de um estudo de corte transversal, descritivo com base de dados secundários, envolvendo 5.312 servidores públicos ativos e 1.283 ocorrências de licenças médicas para tratamento da saúde,ambos os sexos, durante o ano de 2006. A duração do afastamento foi categorizada em dois grupos de afastamento ausências de curta duração (15 a 47 dias) e ausências de longa duração (48 dias e mais). Os dados institucionais foram obtidos da base de dados do Sistema Integrado de Administração de Recursos Humanos–SIAPE e as informações das ocorrências de afastamentos foram obtidas pelo sistema de ocorrências funcionais da Instituição. O diagnóstico da causa mórbida foi obtido a partir de registros nos prontuários no Serviço Médico da Instituição e classificado segundo a CID-10, foram comparados com a lista de doenças relacionadas ao trabalho elaborada pelo Ministério da Saúde. As variáveis foram analisadas por meio de distribuições de freqüências e medidas descritivas (media, desvio padrão e mediana). Para verificar as associações foram utilizados os testes estatísticos Chi-quadrado de Pearson ou o Teste Exato de Fischer. As associações entre os fatores sócio-demográficos e funcionais e a ocorrência de licenças foram expressas por meio de razões de chances (OR) e seus respectivos intervalos de confiança, ajustados por idade. O nível de significância adotado em todas as análises estatísticas foi de 5% (p ≤ 0,05). Foram calculados e expressos os indicadores sugeridos pelo Subcomitê de Absenteísmo da Sociedade Internacional de Saúde Ocupacional: o total de dias perdidos por doença, a freqüência à gravidade e a duração média dos episódios. Foi calculado o índice de absenteísmo (IA). A prevalência de absenteísmo-doença na IFE foi de 8%, representou 43.031 dias perdidos por doença, sendo maior entre as mulheres 10,3% e 5% entre os homens. O Índice de absenteísmo global foi 2,2%, entre os homens 1,9%, entre as mulheres 2,5%. A duração média dos episódios foi de 33,5 dias, entre os homens 40,4 dias e entre as mulheres 30,5 dias. Os principais grupos de causas das licenças foram atribuídos às doenças do sistema osteomuscular e do tecido conjuntivo (34,5%), transtornos mentais e comportamentais (24,9%), neoplasias (9,3%), envenenamentos e outras conseqüências de causas externas (9,3%), doenças do aparelho circulatório (7,4%) e somados os grupos de menor frequência (14,5%). A associação entre fatores sociodemográficos e funcionais foram significantes para o sexo, grupo etario, escolaridade, tempo na instituição, grupo de atividade e local de trabalho. Os afastamentos de longa duração representaram 50% do total de indivíduos que solicitaram afastamento, cujo diagnóstico tivemos acesso, representou 4% do total de servidores ativos. Essas ocorrências representaram 33.290 dias perdidos por doença, 77,4% do total global de dias perdidos por doença. Os resultados apresentados neste estudo confirmam a importante contribuição dos fatores sociodemográficos e funcionais associados à ocorrência de licenças na instituição, bem como a magnitude e variabilidade destas associações. Apontam para a importante contribuição da causa do afastamento na gravidade do absenteísmo por doença na Instituição, para ambos os sexos. / Salvador

Examensarbetet utgår ifrån en kommun vars sjukfrånvarostatistik är bland de högsta i landet. Vi har fått möjlighet att undersöka i vilken grad kommunens chefer känner till och arbetar efter uppsatt policy i rehabiliteringsärenden, deras attityd gentemot denna samt om och i förekommande fall, vad de anses saknas i policyn. Vi har även att undersökt vilka faktorer som har en positiv inverkan på rehabiliteringsprocessen. Teorin utgår från faktorer som enligt forskning visat sig ha en positiv inverkan på långtidssjukskrivna, exempelvis arbetsanpassning, tidig återgång i arbete samt social kontakt mellan arbetsgivare och sjukskriven. Metoden har främst utgått från ett kvantitativt förhållningssätt, då vi använt enkäter för att samla in material till undersökningen. Samtidigt finns kvalitativa drag då materialet både analyserats kvantitativt samt kvalitativt. Resultatet visar att cheferna till stor del känner till och arbetar efter kommunens policy. Cheferna visar en positiv attityd till att erbjuda medarbetare förändringar som innebär en snabbare återgång i arbete men inser även att det kan finnas begränsningar både i arbetets karaktär samt kommunens resurser. Slutsatserna visar att kommunen har flera möjligheter att förbättra sitt rehabiliteringsarbete för att möjliggöra till att medarbetaren snabbare kan återgå i arbete. De behöver bland annat utbilda sina chefer i presenterade faktorer som har positiv inverkan på rehabilitering samt samverkan. / The master thesis is based on a municipality whose sickness absence statistics are among the highest in the country. We have had the opportunity to investigate whether the municipality's managers work according to established policy in rehabilitation cases, as well as the attitude towards this and what they consider missing. We have also studied which factors have a positive impact on the rehabilitation process. The theory is based on factors that, according to research, have shown a positive impact on long-term sick leave, such as job adaptation, early return in work and social contact between employers and employee on sick leave. The method has primarily been based on a quantitative approach, we used surveys to collect material. At the same time there are qualitative features when the material is analysed both qualitative and quantitative. The results show that managers largely know and work according to the municipality´s policy. The managers also show a positive attitude to offer employees changes that mean a faster return to work, but also realize that there may be limitations in both the work´s nature and the municipality's resources. The conclusion shows that the municipality has several possibilities for change in order to improve their rehabilitation efforts to improve the opportunities for employees to return to work faster. One suggestion is to train their managers in presented factors that have a positive impact on rehabilitation.

<p>Bakgrund: Sjukfrånvaron i Sverige är hög i jämförelse med andra EU-länder.Långtidssjukskrivning till följd av stressrelaterade sjukdomar domineras av kvinnor.Det finns ett stort behov av en effektivare återgångsprocess till arbetslivet efter ensjukskrivning där olika insatser bör prövas och utvärderas. I vissa fall kan en neutralpart i form av en oberoende samordnare vara till hjälp för den sjukskrivne iåtergångsprocessen. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att beskriva kvinnors erfarenheter avmöten med arbetsgivarringens representant i återgångsprocessen till arbete, efter enstressrelaterad långtidssjukskrivning. Metod: Data insamlades genom kvalitativaintervjuer med tio kvinnor. Inklusionskriterer var att ha varit långtidssjukskriven förstressrelaterade sjukdomar, att ha varit i kontakt med en arbetsgivarring, samt att underåren 2007-2008 återgått till tidigare arbete eller annat lönearbete i en omfattning avminst 25 procent och ha arbetat under minst sex månader. Med arbetsgivarringens hjälpgjordes ett strategiskt urval, där hänsyn togs till ålder, sjukskrivningens längd, yrke ocharbetsplats. Data analyserades med manifest- och latent innehållsanalys. Resultat:Resultatet visar på fyra kategorier som representerar det manifesta innehållet: att blibemött med respekt och engagemang, att arbeta med att finna lösningar, egen utvecklingmed ökat självförtroende, organisatoriska aspekter. Det latenta innehållet beskriverkvinnans utvecklingsprocess, arbetsgivarringens handledningsprocess och det mellanmänskligasamspel som sker mellan dessa parter. Intervjuerna genomsyras av uttryckdär kvinnan beskriver att hon befinner sig i centrum. Allt handlar om henne och det ärarbetsgivarringen som får henne att känna sig betydelsefull. Slutsats: Genom en djupareförståelse för vad som bidrar till återgång till arbetslivet för personer medlångtidssjukskrivning, kan grunden läggas till ökad satsning och adekvata insatser förökad återgång till arbetet för fler personer.Nyckelord: återgång till arbete (RTW), stressrelaterad långtidssjukskrivning</p> / <p>Background: Sickness absenteeism is high in Sweden compared to other countries inthe European Union. Long-term-sick-absenteeism which depends on stress-relatedsickness is dominated by women. There is a great need to make the return-to-work(RTW) process more effective after an absenteeism where different contributions mustbe tested and evaluated. In some cases may neutral parties in form of an independentRTW-coordinator support sick-listed persons in their RTW-process. Purpose: Thepurpose of the study was to describe women’s experiences of meetings with a personfrom an “arbetsgivarring” in the RTW-process, after a period of stress-related sickness.Methods: Data was collected by qualitative interviews with ten women. Criteria thatincluded participation: to have been long-term-sick-listed because of stress-relatedsickness,to have been in touch with an “arbetsgivarring”, and during 2007-2008returned to earlier occupation or other form of paid work in an extend of 25 percent andhave been working for at least six month. Data was analysed using both manifest andlatent content analysis. Results: The result shows four categories representing themanifest content: to be treated with respect and engagement, to work with findingsolutions, own development with increased self-confidence, organisational aspects. Thelatent content describes the development process of the woman, the guidance process ofthe “arbetsgivarring” and the inter-mediate humanity that occurs between these twoparts in the meeting. All narratives are permeated by expressions where the womandescribes herself being in the centre of attention. Everything is about her and the“arbetsgivarring” makes her feel important. Conclusions: Through deeperunderstanding regarding what promotes RTW for persons on long-term-sick-list thebasis for an increased investment and adequate contributions to reach an improvingRTW can be laid for numerous persons.</p>

The background to this thesis is the dramatic increase of the long-term sickness absence that took place in Sweden from the late 1990s. There was also a shift in the diagnostic pattern with rising mental diagnoses. The overall purpose was to describe and try to understand the process leading to long-term sickness absence from the perspective of the sickness absentees, in order to get a better knowledge base for preventive and rehabilitative actions. The thesis comprises four studies (I-IV). Research methods have been both qualitative and quantitative. In study I data from individual interviews with 32 persons on long-term sick leave due to burnout was analyzed using a grounded theory approach. In study II the study population comprised of 2064 employed sick-listed persons, a sub sample derived from the 2002 national Swedish survey on health, working conditions, life situation and sick-listing. It was analyzed if persons with burnout had higher probability of having experienced the steps in the burnout staircase compared to other diagnostic groups in accordance with the previously suggested hypothesis of "the burnout staircase". Study III comprised of 2521 employed persons, a sub sample derived from the same national survey as in study II. It was analyzed if psychosocial work environment and conflicts and losses in private life independently or in combination were more strongly associated to sickness absence with mental diagnoses as compared to a healthy population. In study IV individual interviews with 25 professional rehabilitation actors and 14 unemployed sick-listed persons were conducted. Data were analyzed according to grounded theory method. The process that led to sicknes absence can be described as an emotional deprivation process, illustrated as a flight of stairs (the burnout staircase) describing a sequence of steps toward sickness absence (I). In accordance with the tested hypothesis persons with burnout to a noticeable higher extent reported expereince of being in the different steps in the burnout staircase compared to sickness absentees with other diagnoses. The model seemed to be valid also for persons with other mental diagnoses (II). Reorganization and conflicts at work as well as adding adverse private life events were associated with increased risk for sickness absence with mental diagnosis (III). Three significant factors behind the weak co-operation between local social insurance and employment agencies were identified: indistinct regulation of co-operation, shifting political goals over time and conflicting goals between agencies (IV). In this thesis it has been suggested that the course of events preceding sickness absence might be understood as a process of emotional deprivation, where the individual is gradually emptied of the life-giving emotional energy revealed in joy, commitment, and empathy. This life-giving force finds its nourishment in safe and secure social relations with others and in a social structure that promotes this type of social relations. The profound changes in the Swedish labour market during the 1990s influenced not just the psychosocial work climate but also the rehabilitation efforts for unemployed sick-listed persons. When the political goal of reducing the unemployment level came to the forefront the indistinct regulation and the conflicting goals in addition were factors that impaired co-ordinated rehabilitation. In this process also the physicians were involved. A labour market problem was turned into a medical problem.

Bakgrund: Sjukfrånvaron i Sverige är hög i jämförelse med andra EU-länder.Långtidssjukskrivning till följd av stressrelaterade sjukdomar domineras av kvinnor.Det finns ett stort behov av en effektivare återgångsprocess till arbetslivet efter ensjukskrivning där olika insatser bör prövas och utvärderas. I vissa fall kan en neutralpart i form av en oberoende samordnare vara till hjälp för den sjukskrivne iåtergångsprocessen. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att beskriva kvinnors erfarenheter avmöten med arbetsgivarringens representant i återgångsprocessen till arbete, efter enstressrelaterad långtidssjukskrivning. Metod: Data insamlades genom kvalitativaintervjuer med tio kvinnor. Inklusionskriterer var att ha varit långtidssjukskriven förstressrelaterade sjukdomar, att ha varit i kontakt med en arbetsgivarring, samt att underåren 2007-2008 återgått till tidigare arbete eller annat lönearbete i en omfattning avminst 25 procent och ha arbetat under minst sex månader. Med arbetsgivarringens hjälpgjordes ett strategiskt urval, där hänsyn togs till ålder, sjukskrivningens längd, yrke ocharbetsplats. Data analyserades med manifest- och latent innehållsanalys. Resultat:Resultatet visar på fyra kategorier som representerar det manifesta innehållet: att blibemött med respekt och engagemang, att arbeta med att finna lösningar, egen utvecklingmed ökat självförtroende, organisatoriska aspekter. Det latenta innehållet beskriverkvinnans utvecklingsprocess, arbetsgivarringens handledningsprocess och det mellanmänskligasamspel som sker mellan dessa parter. Intervjuerna genomsyras av uttryckdär kvinnan beskriver att hon befinner sig i centrum. Allt handlar om henne och det ärarbetsgivarringen som får henne att känna sig betydelsefull. Slutsats: Genom en djupareförståelse för vad som bidrar till återgång till arbetslivet för personer medlångtidssjukskrivning, kan grunden läggas till ökad satsning och adekvata insatser förökad återgång till arbetet för fler personer.Nyckelord: återgång till arbete (RTW), stressrelaterad långtidssjukskrivning / Background: Sickness absenteeism is high in Sweden compared to other countries inthe European Union. Long-term-sick-absenteeism which depends on stress-relatedsickness is dominated by women. There is a great need to make the return-to-work(RTW) process more effective after an absenteeism where different contributions mustbe tested and evaluated. In some cases may neutral parties in form of an independentRTW-coordinator support sick-listed persons in their RTW-process. Purpose: Thepurpose of the study was to describe women’s experiences of meetings with a personfrom an “arbetsgivarring” in the RTW-process, after a period of stress-related sickness.Methods: Data was collected by qualitative interviews with ten women. Criteria thatincluded participation: to have been long-term-sick-listed because of stress-relatedsickness,to have been in touch with an “arbetsgivarring”, and during 2007-2008returned to earlier occupation or other form of paid work in an extend of 25 percent andhave been working for at least six month. Data was analysed using both manifest andlatent content analysis. Results: The result shows four categories representing themanifest content: to be treated with respect and engagement, to work with findingsolutions, own development with increased self-confidence, organisational aspects. Thelatent content describes the development process of the woman, the guidance process ofthe “arbetsgivarring” and the inter-mediate humanity that occurs between these twoparts in the meeting. All narratives are permeated by expressions where the womandescribes herself being in the centre of attention. Everything is about her and the“arbetsgivarring” makes her feel important. Conclusions: Through deeperunderstanding regarding what promotes RTW for persons on long-term-sick-list thebasis for an increased investment and adequate contributions to reach an improvingRTW can be laid for numerous persons.