diff --git a/drivers/thermal/thermal_core.c b/drivers/thermal/thermal_core.c
index 3889840b1e6d..c4e3aaf90213 100644
--- a/drivers/thermal/thermal_core.c
+++ b/drivers/thermal/thermal_core.c
@@ -820,8 +820,9 @@ static void monitor_thermal_zone(struct thermal_zone_device *tz)
 		thermal_zone_device_set_polling(thermal_passive_wq,
 						tz, tz->passive_delay);
 	else if (tz->polling_delay)
-		thermal_zone_device_set_polling(system_freezable_wq,
-						tz, tz->polling_delay);
+		thermal_zone_device_set_polling(
+				system_freezable_power_efficient_wq,
+				tz, tz->polling_delay);
 	else
 		thermal_zone_device_set_polling(NULL, tz, 0);
 
@@ -2404,7 +2405,7 @@ struct thermal_zone_device *thermal_zone_device_register(const char *type,
 	/* Bind cooling devices for this zone */
 	bind_tz(tz);
 
-	INIT_DELAYED_WORK(&(tz->poll_queue), thermal_zone_device_check);
+	INIT_DEFERRABLE_WORK(&(tz->poll_queue), thermal_zone_device_check);
 
 	thermal_zone_device_reset(tz);
 	/* Update the new thermal zone and mark it as already updated. */