drudgery (place of …, esp. one’s job) n. salt mine

Many bass anglers may hang up their tackle and park their boat until better weather. But tournament anglers don’t have that option and working stiffs have only a day or two before heaving to head back to the salt mine. (Charles Johnson, “Battling Spring Cod Fronts for Bass,” The Anniston Star, 2/17/2013.)

This word, when used in the above sense, can also be a synonym for tedium or monotony.