Secured in place with unpleasant work to do inside (8)
I believe the answer is:
anchored
'secured in place' is the definition.
'with unpleasant work to do inside' is the wordplay.
'with' becomes 'and' (I've seen this before).
'unpleasant work to do' becomes 'chore'.
'inside' is an insertion indicator.
'and' placed around 'chore' is 'ANCHORED'.
(Other definitions for anchored that I've seen before include "Fixed firmly and securely" , "In immovable position" , "Grounded, firmly fixed" , "Made fast, secured" , "Fixed a vessel to the seabed" .)