I prefer to ask people what they do for fun when looking for something in common, as opposed to what they do for work.

Some people are recently laid off, and asking what they do for work might sting a bit.

I like asking both, but these days a lot of the "what do you do for fun" answers are just consumption hobbies (e.g. I watch X show on Netflix) that people use to switch off after a long day of work. It's easier to think of interesting follow up questions about someone's work than about these kinds of hobbies. Even if (especially if) the work is something completely different from what I'm doing.