diff --git a/misc/python/materialize/parallel_workload/action.py b/misc/python/materialize/parallel_workload/action.py
index e6d36e6748c87..6ce4fb8b7bc5c 100644
--- a/misc/python/materialize/parallel_workload/action.py
+++ b/misc/python/materialize/parallel_workload/action.py
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 from psycopg import Connection
 from psycopg.errors import OperationalError
 
-import materialize.parallel_workload.database
+import materialize.parallel_workload.column
 from materialize.data_ingest.data_type import (
     NUMBER_TYPES,
     Boolean,
@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ def errors_to_ignore(self, exe: Executor) -> list[str]:
             )
         if exe.db.scenario == Scenario.Rename:
             result.extend(["unknown schema", "ambiguous reference to schema name"])
-        if materialize.parallel_workload.database.NAUGHTY_IDENTIFIERS:
+        if materialize.parallel_workload.column.NAUGHTY_IDENTIFIERS:
             result.extend(["identifier length exceeds 255 bytes"])
         return result
 
diff --git a/misc/python/materialize/parallel_workload/column.py b/misc/python/materialize/parallel_workload/column.py
index 8731efdbe1b76..fa63c08067bcf 100644
--- a/misc/python/materialize/parallel_workload/column.py
+++ b/misc/python/materialize/parallel_workload/column.py
@@ -24,6 +24,11 @@
 NAUGHTY_IDENTIFIERS = False
 
 
+def set_naughty_identifiers(value: bool) -> None:
+    global NAUGHTY_IDENTIFIERS
+    NAUGHTY_IDENTIFIERS = value
+
+
 def naughtify(name: str) -> str:
     """Makes a string into a naughty identifier, always returns the same
     identifier when called with the same input."""
diff --git a/misc/python/materialize/parallel_workload/database.py b/misc/python/materialize/parallel_workload/database.py
index fe5154f1fc6d7..46a44696fe65a 100644
--- a/misc/python/materialize/parallel_workload/database.py
+++ b/misc/python/materialize/parallel_workload/database.py
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@
     SqlServerColumn,
     WebhookColumn,
     naughtify,
+    set_naughty_identifiers,
 )
 from materialize.parallel_workload.executor import Executor
 from materialize.parallel_workload.expression import ExprKind, expression
@@ -872,13 +873,12 @@ def __init__(
         scenario: Scenario,
         naughty_identifiers: bool,
     ):
-        global NAUGHTY_IDENTIFIERS
         self.host = host
         self.ports = ports
         self.complexity = complexity
         self.scenario = scenario
         self.seed = seed
-        NAUGHTY_IDENTIFIERS = naughty_identifiers
+        set_naughty_identifiers(naughty_identifiers)
 
         self.s3_path = 0
         self.dbs = [DB(seed, i) for i in range(rng.randint(1, MAX_INITIAL_DBS))]