A system includes a memory device and a processing device operatively coupled to the memory device. The processing device is to receive a programming command with respect to a set of memory cells coupled to one or more wordlines of the memory device. The processing device is further to determine a value of a metric reflecting reliability of a subset of the set of memory cells. The processing device is further to determine a delay based on the value of the metric. The processing device is further to perform a programming operation with respect to the subset of memory cells. The programming operation includes the delay between a first pass of the programming operation and a second pass of the programming operation.