From Cooperation to Conflict? Swedish Rehabilitation Professionals’ Experiences of Interorganizational Cooperation

Purpose This article analyses Swedish rehabilitation professionals’ experiences of interorganizational cooperation in return-to-work and labour market reintegration. Method Two groups (n = 15) from different organizations met on a regular basis to discuss their practice from a cooperation perspective. The participants had experience of cooperation in the organizational setting of Coordination Associations. The groups worked with a tutor according to a problem-based methodology, to discuss how their practice is influenced by new structures for cooperation. The material was analysed inductively using qualitative content analysis. Results Interorganizational cooperation in rehabilitation is generally perceived as promoting coherence and communication. Nevertheless, there are several contradictory factors in the implementation of such work forms, primarily inflexible sickness insurance regulations and inability of managers to implement cooperation in regular practice. Conclusions While interorganizational cooperation promotes professional discretion and tailored solutions, the insurance system contradicts such ambitions through increased governance. Ultimately, the contradictory tendencies of cooperative initiatives and the stricter governance of sickness insurance regulations are political matters. If political attempts to promote interorganizational cooperation are to succeed, the increasing sectorization that results from strict governance of sickness insurance regulations needs to be targeted on a system level.