The West End

"Well, my old man slaved down here in the West End
  He thought the future was bright, way back then
  But it beat him down 'till he had nothing to give
  It broke his back, took away his will to live"

"The West End"   John Mellencamp   from   No Better Than This

It is generally assumed that words like that describe manual labor. There is a school of thought that believes those words can describe jobs in general.

Clerical, administrative, retail, teaching, medical, insurance, sales.................

Any job can break your back. Any job can take away your will to live.

Its that hollow feeling you get when your paycheck does not reflect your sacrifice.

Your assignment, Jim, should you decide to accept it, is to stiffen up that back and pump up that will.