To me this is a fascinating byproduct of North American life... especially having left. The reality is that that work is the least important part of my character - though it pays for things.

I have no idea what the majority of people in my community do. We simply never discuss work, there's so much more between family, nature, and the goings on in the world. The complete reverse was true in North America - the first question after "what's your name" was invariably "what do you do".