diff --git a/pyzeebe/errors/zeebe_errors.py b/pyzeebe/errors/zeebe_errors.py
index fb9203d3..bdc23f8f 100644
--- a/pyzeebe/errors/zeebe_errors.py
+++ b/pyzeebe/errors/zeebe_errors.py
@@ -15,6 +15,10 @@ class ZeebeInternalError(PyZeebeError):
     pass
 
 
+class ZeebeDeadlineExceeded(PyZeebeError):
+    pass
+
+
 class UnknownGrpcStatusCodeError(PyZeebeError):
     def __init__(self, grpc_error: grpc.aio.AioRpcError):
         super().__init__()
diff --git a/pyzeebe/grpc_internals/zeebe_adapter_base.py b/pyzeebe/grpc_internals/zeebe_adapter_base.py
index c375a391..4269099f 100644
--- a/pyzeebe/grpc_internals/zeebe_adapter_base.py
+++ b/pyzeebe/grpc_internals/zeebe_adapter_base.py
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 from pyzeebe.errors import (
     UnknownGrpcStatusCodeError,
     ZeebeBackPressureError,
+    ZeebeDeadlineExceeded,
     ZeebeGatewayUnavailableError,
     ZeebeInternalError,
 )
@@ -32,7 +33,7 @@ async def _handle_grpc_error(self, grpc_error: grpc.aio.AioRpcError) -> NoReturn
         try:
             pyzeebe_error = _create_pyzeebe_error_from_grpc_error(grpc_error)
             raise pyzeebe_error
-        except (ZeebeGatewayUnavailableError, ZeebeInternalError):
+        except (ZeebeGatewayUnavailableError, ZeebeInternalError, ZeebeDeadlineExceeded):
             self._current_connection_retries += 1
             if not self._should_retry():
                 await self._close()
@@ -52,4 +53,6 @@ def _create_pyzeebe_error_from_grpc_error(grpc_error: grpc.aio.AioRpcError) -> P
         return ZeebeGatewayUnavailableError()
     if is_error_status(grpc_error, grpc.StatusCode.INTERNAL):
         return ZeebeInternalError()
+    elif is_error_status(grpc_error, grpc.StatusCode.DEADLINE_EXCEEDED):
+        return ZeebeDeadlineExceeded()
     return UnknownGrpcStatusCodeError(grpc_error)
diff --git a/pyzeebe/grpc_internals/zeebe_job_adapter.py b/pyzeebe/grpc_internals/zeebe_job_adapter.py
index 5fd328b8..3c4bd8b2 100644
--- a/pyzeebe/grpc_internals/zeebe_job_adapter.py
+++ b/pyzeebe/grpc_internals/zeebe_job_adapter.py
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
+DEFAULT_GRPC_REQUEST_TIMEOUT = 20  # This constant represents the fallback timeout value
+
 
 class ZeebeJobAdapter(ZeebeAdapterBase):
     async def activate_jobs(
@@ -39,6 +41,7 @@ async def activate_jobs(
         tenant_ids: Optional[Iterable[str]] = None,
     ) -> AsyncGenerator[Job, None]:
         try:
+            grpc_request_timeout = request_timeout / 1000 * 2 if request_timeout > 0 else DEFAULT_GRPC_REQUEST_TIMEOUT
             async for response in self._gateway_stub.ActivateJobs(
                 ActivateJobsRequest(
                     type=task_type,
@@ -48,7 +51,8 @@ async def activate_jobs(
                     fetchVariable=variables_to_fetch,
                     requestTimeout=request_timeout,
                     tenantIds=tenant_ids,
-                )
+                ),
+                timeout=grpc_request_timeout,
             ):
                 for raw_job in response.jobs:
                     job = self._create_job_from_raw_job(raw_job)
diff --git a/pyzeebe/worker/job_poller.py b/pyzeebe/worker/job_poller.py
index 1e044cfb..15417459 100644
--- a/pyzeebe/worker/job_poller.py
+++ b/pyzeebe/worker/job_poller.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 from pyzeebe.errors import (
     ActivateJobsRequestInvalidError,
     ZeebeBackPressureError,
+    ZeebeDeadlineExceeded,
     ZeebeGatewayUnavailableError,
     ZeebeInternalError,
 )
@@ -70,7 +71,12 @@ async def poll_once(self) -> None:
         except ActivateJobsRequestInvalidError:
             logger.warning("Activate job requests was invalid for task %s", self.task.type)
             raise
-        except (ZeebeBackPressureError, ZeebeGatewayUnavailableError, ZeebeInternalError) as error:
+        except (
+            ZeebeBackPressureError,
+            ZeebeGatewayUnavailableError,
+            ZeebeInternalError,
+            ZeebeDeadlineExceeded,
+        ) as error:
             logger.warning(
                 "Failed to activate jobs from the gateway. Exception: %s. Retrying in 5 seconds...",
                 repr(error),