diff --git a/include/gem5/asm/generic/m5ops.h b/include/gem5/asm/generic/m5ops.h
index 20f38d31f6..aad927c05b 100644
--- a/include/gem5/asm/generic/m5ops.h
+++ b/include/gem5/asm/generic/m5ops.h
@@ -80,6 +80,8 @@
 #define M5OP_SE_PAGE_FAULT      0x61
 #define M5OP_DIST_TOGGLE_SYNC   0x62
 
+#define M5OP_WORKLOAD           0x70
+
 
 #define M5OP_FOREACH                                            \
     M5OP(m5_arm, M5OP_ARM)                                      \
@@ -108,7 +110,8 @@
     M5OP(m5_work_end, M5OP_WORK_END)                            \
     M5OP(m5_se_syscall, M5OP_SE_SYSCALL)                        \
     M5OP(m5_se_page_fault, M5OP_SE_PAGE_FAULT)                  \
-    M5OP(m5_dist_toggle_sync, M5OP_DIST_TOGGLE_SYNC)
+    M5OP(m5_dist_toggle_sync, M5OP_DIST_TOGGLE_SYNC)            \
+    M5OP(m5_workload, M5OP_WORKLOAD)                            \
 
 #define M5OP_MERGE_TOKENS_I(a, b) a##b
 #define M5OP_MERGE_TOKENS(a, b) M5OP_MERGE_TOKENS_I(a, b)
diff --git a/include/gem5/m5ops.h b/include/gem5/m5ops.h
index fddbf534fa..1caab225e0 100644
--- a/include/gem5/m5ops.h
+++ b/include/gem5/m5ops.h
@@ -68,6 +68,14 @@ void m5_work_end(uint64_t workid, uint64_t threadid);
 void m5_se_syscall();
 void m5_se_page_fault();
 
+/*
+ * Send a very generic poke to the workload so it can do something. It's up to
+ * the workload to know what information to look for to interpret an event,
+ * such as what PC it came from, what register values are, or the context of
+ * the workload itself (is this SE mode? which OS is running?).
+ */
+void m5_workload();
+
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }
 #endif
diff --git a/src/sim/pseudo_inst.cc b/src/sim/pseudo_inst.cc
index a50937438e..03014c0c60 100644
--- a/src/sim/pseudo_inst.cc
+++ b/src/sim/pseudo_inst.cc
@@ -489,6 +489,13 @@ togglesync(ThreadContext *tc)
     DistIface::toggleSync(tc);
 }
 
+void
+triggerWorkloadEvent(ThreadContext *tc)
+{
+    DPRINTF(PseudoInst, "PseudoInst::triggerWorkloadEvent()\n");
+    tc->getSystemPtr()->workload->event(tc);
+}
+
 //
 // This function is executed when annotated work items begin.  Depending on
 // what the user specified at the command line, the simulation may exit and/or
diff --git a/src/sim/pseudo_inst.hh b/src/sim/pseudo_inst.hh
index c32243ae2f..e5c4fe5920 100644
--- a/src/sim/pseudo_inst.hh
+++ b/src/sim/pseudo_inst.hh
@@ -113,6 +113,7 @@ void workbegin(ThreadContext *tc, uint64_t workid, uint64_t threadid);
 void workend(ThreadContext *tc, uint64_t workid, uint64_t threadid);
 void m5Syscall(ThreadContext *tc);
 void togglesync(ThreadContext *tc);
+void triggerWorkloadEvent(ThreadContext *tc);
 
 /**
  * Execute a decoded M5 pseudo instruction
@@ -254,6 +255,10 @@ pseudoInstWork(ThreadContext *tc, uint8_t func, uint64_t &result)
         invokeSimcall<ABI>(tc, togglesync);
         return true;
 
+      case M5OP_WORKLOAD:
+        invokeSimcall<ABI>(tc, triggerWorkloadEvent);
+        return true;
+
       default:
         warn("Unhandled m5 op: %#x\n", func);
         return false;
diff --git a/src/sim/se_workload.hh b/src/sim/se_workload.hh
index 8deb03b31d..16c3f226cb 100644
--- a/src/sim/se_workload.hh
+++ b/src/sim/se_workload.hh
@@ -78,6 +78,9 @@ class SEWorkload : public Workload
     }
 
     void syscall(ThreadContext *tc) override;
+
+    // For now, assume the only type of events are system calls.
+    void event(ThreadContext *tc) override { syscall(tc); }
 };
 
 #endif // __SIM_SE_WORKLOAD_HH__
diff --git a/src/sim/workload.hh b/src/sim/workload.hh
index 60b1cff751..c789b6550e 100644
--- a/src/sim/workload.hh
+++ b/src/sim/workload.hh
@@ -75,6 +75,12 @@ class Workload : public SimObject
         panic("syscall() not implemented.");
     }
 
+    virtual void
+    event(ThreadContext *tc)
+    {
+        warn("Unhandled workload event.");
+    }
+
     /** @{ */
     /**
      * Add a function-based event to the given function, to be looked