diff --git a/backend/main.py b/backend/main.py
index 66ebdff..83ded33 100644
--- a/backend/main.py
+++ b/backend/main.py
@@ -1,13 +1,16 @@
-from fastapi import FastAPI, HTTPException
+from fastapi import FastAPI, HTTPException, Depends, status
 from fastapi.middleware.cors import CORSMiddleware
 from pydantic import BaseModel
 from sqlalchemy import create_engine, Column, Integer, String
 from sqlalchemy.ext.declarative import declarative_base
 from sqlalchemy.orm import sessionmaker, Session
 from typing import List, Optional
+from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
+import os
+
 
 # Database setup
-SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URL = "sqlite:///./team_status.db"
+SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URL = os.environ.get("DATABASE_URL", "sqlite:///./team_status.db")
 engine = create_engine(SQLALCHEMY_DATABASE_URL, connect_args={"check_same_thread": False})
 SessionLocal = sessionmaker(autocommit=False, autoflush=False, bind=engine)
 Base = declarative_base()
@@ -73,59 +76,43 @@ def get_db():
 
 # CRUD Operations
 @app.get("/api/employees", response_model=List[EmployeeResponse])
-def read_employees():
+def read_employees(db: Session = Depends(get_db)):
     """Get all employees"""
-    db = SessionLocal()
-    try:
-        employees = db.query(Employee).all()
-        return employees
-    finally:
-        db.close()
+    employees = db.query(Employee).all()
+    return employees
 
 
-@app.post("/api/employees", response_model=EmployeeResponse)
-def create_employee(employee: EmployeeCreate):
+@app.post("/api/employees", response_model=EmployeeResponse, status_code=status.HTTP_201_CREATED)
+def create_employee(employee: EmployeeCreate, db: Session = Depends(get_db)):
     """Create a new employee"""
-    db = SessionLocal()
-    try:
-        db_employee = Employee(**employee.model_dump(), status="Online")
-        db.add(db_employee)
-        db.commit()
-        db.refresh(db_employee)
-        return db_employee
-    finally:
-        db.close()
+    db_employee = Employee(**employee.model_dump(), status="Online")
+    db.add(db_employee)
+    db.commit()
+    db.refresh(db_employee)
+    return db_employee
 
 
 @app.put("/api/employees/{employee_id}/status", response_model=EmployeeResponse)
-def update_employee_status(employee_id: int, status_update: StatusUpdate):
+def update_employee_status(employee_id: int, status_update: StatusUpdate, db: Session = Depends(get_db)):
     """Update employee status"""
-    db = SessionLocal()
-    try:
-        employee = db.query(Employee).filter(Employee.id == employee_id).first()
-        if not employee:
-            raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Employee not found")
-        employee.status = status_update.status
-        db.commit()
-        db.refresh(employee)
-        return employee
-    finally:
-        db.close()
+    employee = db.query(Employee).filter(Employee.id == employee_id).first()
+    if not employee:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_404_NOT_FOUND, detail="Employee not found")
+    employee.status = status_update.status
+    db.commit()
+    db.refresh(employee)
+    return employee
 
 
-@app.delete("/api/employees/{employee_id}")
-def delete_employee(employee_id: int):
+@app.delete("/api/employees/{employee_id}", status_code=status.HTTP_204_NO_CONTENT)
+def delete_employee(employee_id: int, db: Session = Depends(get_db)):
     """Delete an employee"""
-    db = SessionLocal()
-    try:
-        employee = db.query(Employee).filter(Employee.id == employee_id).first()
-        if not employee:
-            raise HTTPException(status_code=404, detail="Employee not found")
-        db.delete(employee)
-        db.commit()
-        return {"message": "Employee deleted successfully"}
-    finally:
-        db.close()
+    employee = db.query(Employee).filter(Employee.id == employee_id).first()
+    if not employee:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_404_NOT_FOUND, detail="Employee not found")
+    db.delete(employee)
+    db.commit()
+    return None
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":