diff --git a/examples/podcast_reviews/categorize_reviews_job.py b/examples/podcast_reviews/categorize_reviews_job.py
index c74c88d..4cfc695 100644
--- a/examples/podcast_reviews/categorize_reviews_job.py
+++ b/examples/podcast_reviews/categorize_reviews_job.py
@@ -70,6 +70,8 @@ def handle_config(args):
     print(json.dumps(config))
 
 def handle_exec(args):
+    import time, random, os; time.sleep(float(os.getenv('EXEC_SLEEP', '0')) * random.random())
+
     if len(args) < 2:
         print("Exec mode requires category and date arguments", file=sys.stderr)
         sys.exit(1)
diff --git a/examples/podcast_reviews/daily_summary_job.py b/examples/podcast_reviews/daily_summary_job.py
index 4f4a796..774d4fa 100644
--- a/examples/podcast_reviews/daily_summary_job.py
+++ b/examples/podcast_reviews/daily_summary_job.py
@@ -70,6 +70,8 @@ def handle_config(args):
     print(json.dumps(config))
 
 def handle_exec(args):
+    import time, random, os; time.sleep(float(os.getenv('EXEC_SLEEP', '0')) * random.random())
+
     if len(args) < 2:
         print("Exec mode requires category and date arguments", file=sys.stderr)
         sys.exit(1)
diff --git a/examples/podcast_reviews/extract_podcasts_job.py b/examples/podcast_reviews/extract_podcasts_job.py
index bdd66bf..3d20563 100644
--- a/examples/podcast_reviews/extract_podcasts_job.py
+++ b/examples/podcast_reviews/extract_podcasts_job.py
@@ -65,6 +65,8 @@ def handle_config(args):
     print(json.dumps(config))
 
 def handle_exec(args):
+    import time, random, os; time.sleep(float(os.getenv('EXEC_SLEEP', '0')) * random.random())
+
     # Write debug info to a file since stdout might not be captured
     debug_file = "/tmp/databuild_test/podcasts_debug.log"
     with open(debug_file, "w") as f:
diff --git a/examples/podcast_reviews/extract_reviews_job.py b/examples/podcast_reviews/extract_reviews_job.py
index 245db78..b8d37a8 100644
--- a/examples/podcast_reviews/extract_reviews_job.py
+++ b/examples/podcast_reviews/extract_reviews_job.py
@@ -77,6 +77,8 @@ def handle_config(args):
     print(json.dumps(config))
 
 def handle_exec(args):
+    import time, random, os; time.sleep(float(os.getenv('EXEC_SLEEP', '0')) * random.random())
+
     if len(args) < 1:
         print("Exec mode requires date argument", file=sys.stderr)
         sys.exit(1)
diff --git a/examples/podcast_reviews/phrase_modeling_job.py b/examples/podcast_reviews/phrase_modeling_job.py
index 7c528fc..ac95246 100644
--- a/examples/podcast_reviews/phrase_modeling_job.py
+++ b/examples/podcast_reviews/phrase_modeling_job.py
@@ -70,6 +70,8 @@ def handle_config(args):
     print(json.dumps(config))
 
 def handle_exec(args):
+    import time, random, os; time.sleep(float(os.getenv('EXEC_SLEEP', '0')) * random.random())
+
     if len(args) < 2:
         print("Exec mode requires category and date arguments", file=sys.stderr)
         sys.exit(1)
diff --git a/examples/podcast_reviews/phrase_stats_job.py b/examples/podcast_reviews/phrase_stats_job.py
index 5fe4f64..a20f567 100644
--- a/examples/podcast_reviews/phrase_stats_job.py
+++ b/examples/podcast_reviews/phrase_stats_job.py
@@ -70,6 +70,8 @@ def handle_config(args):
     print(json.dumps(config))
 
 def handle_exec(args):
+    import time, random, os; time.sleep(float(os.getenv('EXEC_SLEEP', '0')) * random.random())
+
     if len(args) < 2:
         print("Exec mode requires category and date arguments", file=sys.stderr)
         sys.exit(1)