It is a common cultural belief and also a moral position that working is a sign of health and reflects the ability to contribute to the common good. Research on occupational rehabilitation of cancer survivors has been conducted for about 40 years. It started with ground‐breaking studies in the mid‐1970s that showed that cancer survivors were discriminated against at work and denied insurance because of the often fatal prognosis of their disease. In the 1980s and 1990s, more factors were taken into account in this line of research; specifically, the predictive effect of these factors on return to work and work ability was explored. For example, we learned that younger survivors and men are more likely to return to work and that employer accommodation and flexible working arrangements, such as modified work hours, facilitate work ability in survivors of all types of cancer.1 Because of ongoing improve-ments in cancer management and enhanced survival, the number of cancer survivors who are eligible to resume work is increasing. Never-theless, today, the number of cancer survivors on long‐term sick leave, and also those receiving a disability grant or those becoming unem-ployed, is still much higher than in the general population.2–4 These observations and the fact that approximately 50% of the 3.5 million new cancer patients per year in Europe are of working age at the time of diagnosis has increased attention on “cancer and work” research during the past few decades.5 Numerous large descriptive cohort studies have been conducted, and various intervention programs have been developed to support cancer survivors in returning to work.