diff --git a/.github/workflows/deps.yml b/.github/workflows/deps.yml
index 24b3a6301..707247b78 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/deps.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/deps.yml
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ jobs:
           run: git diff --exit-code --compact-summary
           id: no_change
         - name: create branch
-          if: ${{ steps.no_change.conclusion == 'failure' }}
+          if: ${{ failure() && steps.no_change.conclusion == 'failure' }}
           run: |
             git config user.name 'github-actions[bot]'
             git config user.email 'github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com'
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ jobs:
             git commit -m "spack updates"
             git push -f --set-upstream origin github-bot/update_spackages
         - name: create pull request
-          if: ${{ steps.no_change.conclusion == 'failure' }}
+          if: ${{ failure() && steps.no_change.conclusion == 'failure' }}
           run: gh pr create -B main -H github-bot/update_spackages --title 'Update spackages' --body 'Created by Github action'
           env:
             GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}