Most programmers seem to avoid conflict at all costs, which is a bad trait in a corporate environment. But you can minimise the discomfort by standing your ground at the right times.
The best time is when accepting the employment offer and not signing anything that will put you in a position of having to stand your ground against shitty conditions later. Things like non-compete clauses (and relinquishing all IP rights), no side projects (because you have to be 110% for the job) or mandatory overtime with inadequate or no compensation shouldn't be accepted as-is.
Otherwise you will have zero status because you signed it away at the start.
Conflict avoidance is pretty much always a losing strategy and a very bad habit. It makes you less efficient in a company (as flawed decisions aren't challenged until to late), but more importantly, it makes you vulnerable and ensures that you often get unreasonably bad deals.
It can be fixed, as almost everything else, it's a trainable skill/habit.
The best time is when accepting the employment offer and not signing anything that will put you in a position of having to stand your ground against shitty conditions later. Things like non-compete clauses (and relinquishing all IP rights), no side projects (because you have to be 110% for the job) or mandatory overtime with inadequate or no compensation shouldn't be accepted as-is.
Otherwise you will have zero status because you signed it away at the start.