diff --git a/.github/workflows/oswal-s3-bench.yml b/.github/workflows/oswal-s3-bench.yml
index 8ad4d58e636..899f5a6411e 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/oswal-s3-bench.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/oswal-s3-bench.yml
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 name: Object Store WAL S3 Benchmark
 on:
+  # Registers the workflow for dispatch before it reaches the default branch; such runs skip every job.
+  push:
+    branches: [bench/oswal-s3-wal]
   workflow_dispatch:
     inputs:
       smoke:
@@ -57,6 +60,7 @@ env:
   JANITOR_TTL_HOURS: ${{ inputs.janitor_ttl_hours }}
 jobs:
   validate:
+    if: github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch'
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     timeout-minutes: 15
     outputs: