diff --git a/server/reflector/ws_manager.py b/server/reflector/ws_manager.py
index 83201ce1..c67c176b 100644
--- a/server/reflector/ws_manager.py
+++ b/server/reflector/ws_manager.py
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ broadcast messages to all connected websockets.
 
 import asyncio
 import json
-import threading
 
 import redis.asyncio as redis
 from fastapi import WebSocket
@@ -98,9 +97,9 @@ class WebsocketManager:
 
     async def _pubsub_data_reader(self, pubsub_subscriber):
         while True:
+            # No timeout - global singleton prevents CPU hog from multiple instances
             message = await pubsub_subscriber.get_message(
-                ignore_subscribe_messages=True,
-                timeout=1.0,
+                ignore_subscribe_messages=True
             )
             if message is not None:
                 room_id = message["channel"].decode("utf-8")
@@ -110,29 +109,40 @@ class WebsocketManager:
                     await socket.send_json(data)
 
 
+# Process-global singleton (not thread-local)
+# The original threading.local() pattern was broken - it created a NEW
+# threading.local() object on every call, so caching never worked.
+# This caused infinite ws_manager instances → resource leaks → CPU hog.
+_ws_manager: WebsocketManager | None = None
+
+
 def get_ws_manager() -> WebsocketManager:
     """
-    Returns the WebsocketManager instance for managing websockets.
+    Returns the global WebsocketManager singleton.
 
-    This function initializes and returns the WebsocketManager instance,
-    which is responsible for managing websockets and handling websocket
-    connections.
+    Creates instance on first call, subsequent calls return cached instance.
+    Thread-safe via GIL. Concurrent initialization may create duplicate
+    instances but last write wins (acceptable for this use case).
 
     Returns:
-        WebsocketManager: The initialized WebsocketManager instance.
-
-    Raises:
-        ImportError: If the 'reflector.settings' module cannot be imported.
-        RedisConnectionError: If there is an error connecting to the Redis server.
+        WebsocketManager: The global WebsocketManager instance.
     """
-    local = threading.local()
-    if hasattr(local, "ws_manager"):
-        return local.ws_manager
+    global _ws_manager
 
+    if _ws_manager is not None:
+        return _ws_manager
+
+    # No lock needed - GIL makes this safe enough
+    # Worst case: race creates two instances, last assignment wins
     pubsub_client = RedisPubSubManager(
         host=settings.REDIS_HOST,
         port=settings.REDIS_PORT,
     )
-    ws_manager = WebsocketManager(pubsub_client=pubsub_client)
-    local.ws_manager = ws_manager
-    return ws_manager
+    _ws_manager = WebsocketManager(pubsub_client=pubsub_client)
+    return _ws_manager
+
+
+def reset_ws_manager() -> None:
+    """Reset singleton for testing. DO NOT use in production."""
+    global _ws_manager
+    _ws_manager = None
diff --git a/server/tests/test_user_websocket_auth.py b/server/tests/test_user_websocket_auth.py
index 5a40440f..5ea52caa 100644
--- a/server/tests/test_user_websocket_auth.py
+++ b/server/tests/test_user_websocket_auth.py
@@ -56,7 +56,12 @@ def appserver_ws_user(setup_database):
 
     if server_instance:
         server_instance.should_exit = True
-        server_thread.join(timeout=30)
+        server_thread.join(timeout=2.0)
+
+    # Reset global singleton for test isolation
+    from reflector.ws_manager import reset_ws_manager
+
+    reset_ws_manager()
 
 
 @pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
@@ -133,6 +138,11 @@ async def test_user_ws_accepts_valid_token_and_receives_events(appserver_ws_user
 
     # Connect and then trigger an event via HTTP create
     async with aconnect_ws(base_ws, subprotocols=subprotocols) as ws:
+        # Give Redis pubsub time to establish subscription before publishing
+        import asyncio
+
+        await asyncio.sleep(0.2)
+
         # Emit an event to the user's room via a standard HTTP action
         from httpx import AsyncClient
 
@@ -150,6 +160,7 @@ async def test_user_ws_accepts_valid_token_and_receives_events(appserver_ws_user
             "email": "user-abc@example.com",
         }
 
+        # Use in-memory client (global singleton makes it share ws_manager)
         async with AsyncClient(app=app, base_url=f"http://{host}:{port}/v1") as ac:
             # Create a transcript as this user so that the server publishes TRANSCRIPT_CREATED to user room
             resp = await ac.post("/transcripts", json={"name": "WS Test"})