I'm not an expert on this by any means, but those things can lead to other topics, so they can briefly be brought up. Example:
You ask how the day went and she says something about her working. You can ask where she works and then go from there. I know a girl who works at Hollister. I worked there for 2 weeks about a year ago, so as soon as that was brought up I made the connection and soon enough we were having laughs about the dumb managers, stuck-up coworkers, etc. On the flipside, other times their job seems boring and I can't relate at all, so I move on.
I believe it's a good idea to briefly touch on subjects like work, family, school, etc so you can find out about the person's life, goals, ambitions, outlook, etc. Basically if they're worth going out with again. So I don't think those topics need to be avoided, as long as you can turn them into something fun and not dwell on them.