diff --git a/.github/workflows/needs-sme-stale-check.yaml b/.github/workflows/needs-sme-stale-check.yaml
index dbd11f9556..3c8f8f8d53 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/needs-sme-stale-check.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/needs-sme-stale-check.yaml
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ jobs:
         with:
           only-labels: needs SME
           remove-stale-when-updated: true
-          days-before-stale: 7 # adds stale label if no activity for 7 days
+          days-before-stale: 28 # adds stale label if no activity for 7 days - temporarily changed to 28 days as we work through the backlog
           stale-issue-message: 'This is a gentle bump for the docs team that this issue is waiting for technical review.'
           stale-issue-label: SME stale
           days-before-issue-close: -1 # never close