You'll never hear this question the same way again.

It's an easy question to ask but are they really interested in how you spend your 9-5? Here are 3 power moves people are playing with you:

Are you more powerful than me?

Does this influence how they might treat people of 'lower status' jobs? Sure bank managers and architects enjoy social respect but during COVID life was held together by supermarket workers, delivery drivers and vaccination centre volunteers.

Are you smarter than me?

Intelligence is sexy but it's context-dependent. Society regards lawyers as intelligent but their knowledge is no use when your boiler is broken and you don't have the expertise to fix it so you have to rely on someone else rescuing you in order to feel warm once more.

Are you richer than me?

A black and white measure of success but not of automatic happiness. Professions that are well-paid are regularly ranked as the most stressful. Wealth can be measured through having abundant free time, robust health, or enjoying a strong sense of community.