As someone new in this industry, I'm noticing that whoever appears more normal in meetings instantly wins any conflict, regardless of who has the most valid arguments. I find myself preemptively doing as little work as possible on days I think I'll have some sort of discussion in a meeting, since being frazzled from writing code ensures that the other party can force their demands on you without issue. It seems like people are also throwing out little jabs constantly. If you are in a relaxed state of mind, you win and they look weak. If you are worked up and respond, they win. Basically I writing code seems like a horrific waste of time on most days.

Is this normal?