Dealing with toxic team environment while preparing to switch jobs

[Gaurav]

I'm a software engineer with around 3 years of experience working in a pretty toxic project and I'm trying to move towards setting healthier work boundaries while I prepare for a job switch. I'm facing some issues like being forced to take on extra work, weekend work pressure, daily standup pressure, and after-hours boundaries. How do you guys handle these situations without creating a big conflict? I'm trying to do my job properly but also stop letting work take over my entire time and mental space while I prepare for interviews. For people who've been in similar situations, how did you start setting boundaries and handle leads who call you out in standups?

[Ayaan]

I can relate to your situation, but sometimes you just have to take the pressure for a few days and move out once you get a good opportunity.

[Chandan]

The problem is that if you feel pressured in daily standups and can't give meaningful status updates, it means you're not meeting the team's expectations. You need to figure out why you're not able to do your daily work and fix it, whether it's a technical gap, training gap, or not testing your code well enough.

[Shalini]

Do you guys have retrospectives where you discuss issues like weekend work and unhealthy boundaries? If your lead assigns more work, you can tell them that you can do it at the cost of deprioritizing previous tasks. If your lead scolds you in front of everyone, don't stay silent, tell them politely that the tone is the issue and ask them to rephrase their words in a better way.

[Jayant]

It all depends on how much you need this job and how much you can risk it. If you really need the job, you'll have to tolerate the pressure. If you're confident that you can survive and don't want to leave until you get another job offer, then you can try to set boundaries. For example, when your lead assigns extra work, you can tell them that you'll start the new work as soon as the old work is complete. When they ask you to work on weekends, you can ask about overtime or compoffs and drop an email to clarify. When your lead scolds you in standups, you can call them out and ask them to stay professional. When you get calls on your personal phone, you can set boundaries by saying you're not available and will discuss it the next day.