diff --git a/src/conductor/client/automator/task_handler.py b/src/conductor/client/automator/task_handler.py
index ff43ecbc4..7a525e52d 100644
--- a/src/conductor/client/automator/task_handler.py
+++ b/src/conductor/client/automator/task_handler.py
@@ -270,9 +270,11 @@ def __init__(
         self._next_restart_at: List[float] = [0.0 for _ in self.workers]
         # Lock to protect process list during concurrent access (monitor thread vs main thread)
         self._process_lock = threading.Lock()
+        self._processes_started = False
         logger.info("TaskHandler initialized")
 
     def __enter__(self):
+        self.start_processes()
         return self
 
     def __exit__(self, exc_type, exc_value, traceback):
@@ -286,11 +288,15 @@ def stop_processes(self) -> None:
         with self._process_lock:
             self.__stop_task_runner_processes()
             self.__stop_metrics_provider_process()
+        self._processes_started = False
         logger.info("Stopped worker processes...")
         self.queue.put(None)
         self.logger_process.terminate()
 
     def start_processes(self) -> None:
+        if self._processes_started:
+            return
+        self._processes_started = True
         logger.info("Starting worker processes...")
         freeze_support()
         self._monitor_stop_event.clear()
diff --git a/src/conductor/client/workflow/executor/workflow_executor.py b/src/conductor/client/workflow/executor/workflow_executor.py
index ba723e54d..220c70133 100644
--- a/src/conductor/client/workflow/executor/workflow_executor.py
+++ b/src/conductor/client/workflow/executor/workflow_executor.py
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
+import logging
 import uuid
 from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional
 
+logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
+
 from typing_extensions import Self
 
 from conductor.client.configuration.configuration import Configuration
@@ -106,12 +109,26 @@ def execute(self, name: str, version: Optional[int] = None, workflow_input: Any
         if domain is not None:
             request.task_to_domain = {"*": domain}
 
-        return self.workflow_client.execute_workflow(
+        workflow_run = self.workflow_client.execute_workflow(
             start_workflow_request=request,
             request_id=request_id,
             wait_until_task_ref=wait_until_task_ref,
             wait_for_seconds=wait_for_seconds,
         )
+        if getattr(workflow_run, 'status', None) == 'RUNNING':
+            try:
+                full = self.workflow_client.get_workflow(workflow_run.workflow_id, include_tasks=True)
+                failed = [t for t in (full.tasks or []) if t.status in ('FAILED', 'FAILED_WITH_TERMINAL_ERROR')]
+                if failed:
+                    t = failed[0]
+                    reason = getattr(t, 'reason_for_incompletion', None) or 'see server logs'
+                    logger.warning(
+                        "Workflow %s returned RUNNING after timeout, but task '%s' has status %s: %s",
+                        workflow_run.workflow_id, t.reference_task_name, t.status, reason,
+                    )
+            except Exception:
+                pass
+        return workflow_run
 
     def remove_workflow(self, workflow_id: str, archive_workflow: Optional[bool] = None) -> None:
         """Removes the workflow permanently from the system"""
diff --git a/tests/unit/automator/test_task_handler_coverage.py b/tests/unit/automator/test_task_handler_coverage.py
index b97e00838..dd85af223 100644
--- a/tests/unit/automator/test_task_handler_coverage.py
+++ b/tests/unit/automator/test_task_handler_coverage.py
@@ -663,12 +663,19 @@ def test_context_manager_enter(self, mock_process_class, mock_import, mock_loggi
 
     @patch('conductor.client.automator.task_handler._setup_logging_queue')
     @patch('importlib.import_module')
-    def test_context_manager_exit(self, mock_import, mock_logging):
+    @patch('conductor.client.automator.task_handler.Process')
+    def test_context_manager_exit(self, mock_process_class, mock_import, mock_logging):
         """Test context manager __exit__ method."""
         mock_queue = Mock()
         mock_logger_process = Mock()
         mock_logging.return_value = (mock_logger_process, mock_queue)
 
+        mock_process = Mock()
+        mock_process.terminate = Mock()
+        mock_process.kill = Mock()
+        mock_process.is_alive = Mock(return_value=False)
+        mock_process_class.return_value = mock_process
+
         worker = ClassWorker('test_task')
         handler = TaskHandler(
             workers=[worker],
@@ -679,10 +686,16 @@ def test_context_manager_exit(self, mock_import, mock_logging):
         # Override the queue and logger_process with fresh mocks
         handler.queue = Mock()
         handler.logger_process = Mock()
+        handler.logger_process.is_alive = Mock(return_value=False)
+        handler.metrics_provider_process = Mock()
+        handler.metrics_provider_process.terminate = Mock()
+        handler.metrics_provider_process.is_alive = Mock(return_value=False)
 
         # Mock terminate on all processes
         for process in handler.task_runner_processes:
             process.terminate = Mock()
+            process.kill = Mock()
+            process.is_alive = Mock(return_value=False)
 
         with handler:
             pass