B757 flight crew report stiff elevator and ailerons on first departure after receiving aircraft from maintenance hangar. A decision is made to return for over weight landing; and a stiff flap handle is noted during approach. Uneventful landing ensues.

Narrative

We received Aircraft X from the maintenance hangar at ORD where it was being worked on for a hydraulic leak and a flap discrepancy. Preflight and walkaround was normal with no visual problems noted. I took special care to look at the area around the flap and landing gear area due to the previous discrepancies. I did the normal taxi out checklist and during the flight control checks and didn't notice any abnormalities. Winds were brisk and gusty with a healthy; but within limits; crosswind. I noticed that it took more back stick to rotate the aircraft; but rotated without difficulty. We made a left turn toward the south as we accelerated and climbed on our departure. During the climbout; I was struck by how stiff the controls felt; much more than normal. It was certainly controllable; but didn't feel quite right. After we were in a less busy time of flight; I asked the Captain to take over the flight controls so that he could make an assessment. He felt and said that the flight controls did feel very stiff to him as well. We then decided that the best course of action was to return to ZZZ and let maintenance look at the aircraft. We notified Center that we needed to return to ZZZ and declared an emergency. We accomplished the QRH procedures for 'Jammed or Restricted Flight Controls' and the 'Overweight Landing.' I told the Captain that I wanted Runway XXR; as it was long and into the wind. When we began configuring the aircraft for landing; the Captain said that the flap handle took extra effort to move; however; the flaps operated normally. We landed on Runway XXR with a minimum sink rate with little difficulty and exited the runway. The return to the gate was uneventful. At no time did we feel as if we were not in control of the aircraft. ZZZ Approach and Center; as well as the ZZZ Controllers and ARFF were exemplary. Callback conversation with Reporter ACN 832676 revealed the following information: The reporter states that a complete inspection of all flight controls was performed by maintenance and no real discrepancies were noted; although an aileron trim actuator and the flap/slat control module were changed. The aircraft received a functional check flight before being returned to service with no problems noted.