Emiru & ExtraEmily’s struggles working a “real job” draws surprise response

Twitch streamers Emiru and ExtraEmily worked a “real job” and complained that their feet hurt from standing, drawing an unexpected response from viewers.

Lately, the subject of streaming versus having a “real job” has been a hot topic of conversation on social media.

It all started when Twitch streamer and political commentator Hasan explained that his “social battery” is more drained from streaming full-time than when he worked a regular job during February 2024 broadcast.

A clip from his stream went viral online, sparking a massive debate amongst viewers — many of whom felt sore over Hasan saying “a real job doesn’t suck the soul out of you the same way that nine hours of streaming absolutely will.”

Since then, the internet has been set alight with conversation around Hasan’s divisive remarks… but the conversation took a different turn when Emiru and ExtraEmily rolled up their sleeves to work a “real job” amidst the controversy.

ExtraEmily & Emiru work at a sandwich shop during Twitch vs “real job” controversy

On February 28, OTK streamers Emiru and ExtraEmily worked at a sandwich shop in Austin, Texas as part of a partnered broadcast with sponsor AT&T.

About three hours into the stream, the pair admitted that their feet were hurting from standing for so long and walking around the shop.

“Your feet hurt from standing?” ExtraEmily asked Emiru. “Mine too, a little bit.”

“I wore terrible shoes for this,” Emiru admitted. “I just wanted to look tall behind the counter.”

While Emiru was wearing some clogs, a worker at the shop decided to slip on a pair of worn leather boots, something the cameraman made sure to zoom in on.

“Do your feet hurt or anything?” Emily asked them.

“Nah, I’m used to it,” the employee answered.

This interaction sparked an interesting conversation over on Reddit, where viewers appeared to sympathize with the streamers and offered their own experiences with sore feet from working standing jobs.

“I do not miss having to stand for 8 hrs+ working in my old retail job,” one user said. “The adjustment period on my feet and back sucked. Especially when I had to move furniture on my own.”

“Bro when I got a retail job for the summer after college, I would walk 12-15 miles in an 8 hour shift,” another shared. “My feet felt like they were going to fall off for the first couple weeks.”

“It’s not that they can’t work a real job, it’s just that they aren’t used to it,” another posited. “I had to take Tylenol and chug a Red Bull twice a day for a month to get through a shift working at Chipotle, but eventually I could get through a double without even thinking about it because my body adapted to it.”

However, others didn’t seem to be too sympathetic, with one viewer claiming that “streamers cosplaying as regular workers will always be cringe” — a sentiment that was also thrown toward TikTok star Charli D’Amelio, who received a tidal wave of backlash after ‘working’ at Walmart as part of an ad campaign in 2023.