11. Qui a recours au travail dissimulé et pourquoi ?

This article analyzes the profile of individuals who have used hidden work and their motivation. It also questions the particularities of undeclared work as compared to declared activities and the relative better future employability of people who use it. Though diverse, the biographies of these people often show struggles and ruptures in education and professional life. Hidden work then provides income and allows maintaining a positive reflection on self, often threatened by professional uncertainty. Apart from the absence of declaration, hidden work wears similar characteristics to declared activities in terms of work organization. There exist four recurring justifications of hidden work. The first introduces it like a strategy modifying a rule judged too strict. The second presents it like an informal service inside a network of individuals. In the third one, individuals explain that hidden work allows them to develop new kind of skills, different from the ones used day to day. The fourth justification is a demonstration of individual responsibility: hidden work allows individuals to avoid using social assistance.