diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1c8d1c3..1757fe2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -109,6 +109,9 @@ The table below lists the environment variables available and the relevant Tempo
 | TEMPORAL_TLS_CERT | [ClientOptions.ConnectionOptions.TLS.Certificates](https://pkg.go.dev/go.temporal.io/sdk@v1.15.0/internal#ConnectionOptions) | Path to TLS Cert file |
 | TEMPORAL_TLS_CA | [ClientOptions.ConnectionOptions.TLS](https://pkg.go.dev/go.temporal.io/sdk@v1.15.0/internal#ConnectionOptions) | Path to TLS CA Cert file |
 | PROMETHEUS_ENDPOINT | n/a | The address to serve prometheus metrics on |
+| TEMPORAL_DISABLE_ERROR_BACKOFF | n/a | Disable request expotential backoff on work request failure |
+| TEMPORAL_BACKOFF_MAX_INTERVAL | n/a | Sets the max interval (seconds) that can be reached by the backoff |
+| TEMPORAL_BACKOFF_FACTOR | n/a | Sets the factor the interval is multiplied by | 
 
 The runner is also configured via command line options:
 
@@ -211,4 +214,4 @@ This activity sleeps for the given number of seconds. It never returns an error.
 
 `Echo({ Message: string, Padding?: []byte }) result`
 
-This activity simply returns the message as it's result. This can be used for stress testing polling with activities that return instantly. The optional `Padding` field can be used to increase the size of the activity input in workflow history.
\ No newline at end of file
+This activity simply returns the message as it's result. This can be used for stress testing polling with activities that return instantly. The optional `Padding` field can be used to increase the size of the activity input in workflow history.
diff --git a/cmd/runner/main.go b/cmd/runner/main.go
index 4dfe72e..d803fbc 100644
--- a/cmd/runner/main.go
+++ b/cmd/runner/main.go
@@ -21,12 +21,17 @@ import (
 	"go.temporal.io/sdk/client"
 )
 
-var nWorkflows = flag.Int("c", 10, "concurrent workflows")
-var sWorkflow = flag.String("t", "", "workflow type")
-var sSignalType = flag.String("s", "", "signal type")
-var bWait = flag.Bool("w", true, "wait for workflows to complete")
-var sNamespace = flag.String("n", "default", "namespace")
-var sTaskQueue = flag.String("tq", "benchmark", "task queue")
+var (
+	nWorkflows  = flag.Int("c", 10, "concurrent workflows")
+	sWorkflow = flag.String("t", "", "workflow type")
+	sSignalType = flag.String("s", "", "signal type")
+	bWait = flag.Bool("w", true, "wait for workflows to complete")
+	sNamespace = flag.String("n", "default", "namespace")
+	sTaskQueue = flag.String("tq", "benchmark", "task queue")
+	nMaxInterval = flag.Int("max-interval", 60, "maximum interval (in seconds) for exponential backoff")
+	nFactor = flag.Int("backoff-factor", 2, "factor for exponential backoff")
+	bDisableBackoff = flag.Bool("disable-backoff", false, "disable exponential backoff on errors")
+)
 
 // Track which flags were explicitly set
 var flagsSet = make(map[string]bool)
@@ -97,6 +102,9 @@ func main() {
 	waitForCompletion := getBoolValue("w", "TEMPORAL_WAIT", *bWait, true)
 	namespace := getStringValue("n", "TEMPORAL_NAMESPACE", *sNamespace, "default")
 	taskQueue := getStringValue("tq", "TEMPORAL_TASK_QUEUE", *sTaskQueue, "benchmark")
+	disableBackOff := getBoolValue("disable-backoff", "TEMPORAL_DISABLE_ERROR_BACKOFF", *bDisableBackoff, false)
+	maxInterval := getIntValue("max-interval", "TEMPORAL_BACKOFF_MAX_INTERVAL", *nMaxInterval, 60)
+	factor := getIntValue("backoff-factor", "TEMPORAL_BACKOFF_FACTOR", *nFactor, 2)
 
 	log.Printf("Using namespace: %s", namespace)
 
@@ -198,22 +206,58 @@ func main() {
 	}
 
 	go (func() {
+		currentInterval := 1
+		errChan := make(chan error, concurrentWorkflows)
+		
 		for {
 			pool.Submit(func() {
 				wf, err := starter()
 				if err != nil {
-					log.Println("Unable to start workflow", err)
+					fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Unable to start workflow: %v\n", err)
+					errChan <- err
 					return
 				}
-
+				
 				if waitForCompletion {
 					err = wf.Get(context.Background(), nil)
 					if err != nil {
-						log.Println("Workflow failed", err)
+						fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Workflow failed: %v\n", err)
+						errChan <- err
 						return
 					}
 				}
+				
+				errChan <- nil
 			})
+			
+			var lastErr error
+			updated := false
+			
+			drainLoop:
+			for {
+				select {
+				case err := <-errChan:
+					lastErr = err
+					updated = true
+				default:
+					break drainLoop
+				}
+			}
+			
+			if disableBackOff || !updated {
+				continue
+			}
+			
+			if lastErr != nil {
+				fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "Waiting for %d seconds before retrying to start workflow...\n", currentInterval)
+				time.Sleep(time.Duration(currentInterval) * time.Second)
+				nInterval := currentInterval * factor
+				if nInterval < maxInterval && maxInterval != 0 {
+					currentInterval *= factor
+				}
+			} else if lastErr == nil {
+				currentInterval = 1
+			}
 		}
 	})()