Abstract  The study is based on the judgments of the labor court which depict the employers and the employees experience of the rehabilitation situation. The origin and cause of the communication and cooperation problems are explained by putting them in relation to the interaction in organisations, the function of the leader for the employees and the importance of teamwork for the employee in sick leave.  The study resulted in three themes: lack of commitment, passivity and dissatisfaction, and limitations in influence. These themes describe in more detail how the employer and the employee act based on their experience of the rehabilitation situation, how other actors make the rehabilitation situation more difficult and how the difficulties of dealing with a long-term rehabilitation situation are expressed and handled.  Previous reseach clarifies that work-related ill health is rooted in stress factors at the workplace and difficulties in adapting the workplace to the employees rehabilitation needs. The long-term sick leave is explained as a consequence of the organizations streamlining. The organizations ability to adjust work is described as important in order to prevent long-term sick leave.