I'm sorry to hear that you're going through a tough time. However, I feel that I don't have enough context to provide you with specific actions. Moreover, taking any specific action may not help and could potentially lead to another argument with your staff engineers.

During our professional journeys, we may encounter toxic environments. However, it is essential to remember that this is just one small phase in your overall journey. Consider it a learning opportunity. Remember that everyone faces similar problems but handles them differently. Rather than focusing on winning arguments, aim to get the best out of the situation.

Please take a step back and consider the following:

1. Working backward plan: Determine the end result you are looking for and build a plan to work backward from there. Define your role expectations and see how you can meet them within the given environment limitations. Also, Identify the cheerleader for you who can recognize your efforts. Return the favor by help others.
2. Deep dive: Double-check the facts and remove emotional strings. Make a list of things that are in your control and things that are not. Focus on things in your control and see how you can achieve the end result listed in step one above.
3. Earn trust: Learn the rules of the game. I highly recommend finding a middle ground to work with the staff engineer. They have domain knowledge that you should respect. Instead of finding their shortcomings, ask for their opinion and offer help. They should feel that you respect their experience.

I know I am not giving you specific help here but hope you find these points useful. 

Staff Software Engineer [E6] at Meta

Avtar Sohi

Thank you for asking. I have been there multiple times.

Here are a couple of things that helped me:

1\. Since my team has a lot of random work, I started to reserve 20% of my time for that work. It helped me take up new tasks without overworking or dropping existing ones.

2\. Inviting the team lead and manager to make decisions on priority and being upfront about what can and cannot be done. It will help you and your lead/manager understand your workload and expectations.

3\. Dividing your weekly tasks into three categories can help you track how many items you have in the high-priority bucket. If it goes above your threshold, push back and invite lead/manager in re-prioritizing. 

- \- High priority
- \- Low priority
- \- Long term