diff --git a/.github/workflows/github-actions-essential-ci.yml b/.github/workflows/github-actions-essential-ci.yml
index a7730545c54e..73c2051e7a52 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/github-actions-essential-ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/github-actions-essential-ci.yml
@@ -369,6 +369,7 @@ jobs:
           
           # Set the latest commit hash as an output variable
           echo "::set-output name=latest_commit::$LATEST_COMMIT"
+        if: ${{ github.event_name != 'push' }}
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
         with:
           ref: ${{ github.event.pull_request.head.sha || github.ref }}
@@ -380,11 +381,11 @@ jobs:
         run: ./build/github/cockroach-microbench-ci.sh
         env:
           COMPARE_THRESHOLD: "5.00"
-          PUSH_STEP: ${{ github.event_name == 'push' }}
+          PUSH_STEP: ${{ github.event_name == 'push' && env.GITHUB_ACTIONS_BRANCH != 'staging' }}
           BASE_SHA: ${{ steps.get_latest_commit_target_branch.outputs.latest_commit }}
 
           # TODO(sambhav-jain-16): add Performance note check and use this flag. Currently set to false (https://github.com/cockroachdb/cockroach/issues/106661)
-          SKIP_COMPARISON: false
+          SKIP_COMPARISON: ${{ env.GITHUB_ACTIONS_BRANCH == 'staging' }}
       - name: upload build results
         run: ./build/github/summarize-build.sh bes.bin
         if: always()
diff --git a/build/github/cockroach-microbench-ci.sh b/build/github/cockroach-microbench-ci.sh
index 9ef680ed5a94..c75dd47d5b88 100755
--- a/build/github/cockroach-microbench-ci.sh
+++ b/build/github/cockroach-microbench-ci.sh
@@ -53,8 +53,8 @@ $roachprod_microbench_dir/roachprod-microbench clean "$log_output_file_path" "$c
 
 # Push artifact if this is a base merge and skip comparison
 if $PUSH_STEP; then
-  gcloud storage cp "$cleaned_current_dir/$benchmark_file_name" "$storage_bucket_url/$GITHUB_HEAD_REF/$GITHUB_SHA.log"
-  echo "Skipping comparison since this is a base merge."
+  gcloud storage cp "$cleaned_current_dir/$benchmark_file_name" "$storage_bucket_url/$GITHUB_REF/$GITHUB_SHA.log"
+  echo "Skipping comparison since this is a push step into the target branch"
   exit $success_exit_status
 fi