diff --git a/.bazelrc b/.bazelrc
index aabc54bf1..d6f139529 100644
--- a/.bazelrc
+++ b/.bazelrc
@@ -14,3 +14,7 @@
 
 # Defaults to auto which means off for Windows, explicitly enable for sh tests
 build --enable_runfiles=yes
+
+# Explicitly enable WORKSPACE
+# See https://github.com/bazelbuild/bazel/issues/23023
+common --enable_workspace