diff --git a/internal/provider/resource_tfe_workspace.go b/internal/provider/resource_tfe_workspace.go
index b19513c04..435d15ed4 100644
--- a/internal/provider/resource_tfe_workspace.go
+++ b/internal/provider/resource_tfe_workspace.go
@@ -598,6 +598,12 @@ func resourceTFEWorkspaceUpdate(d *schema.ResourceData, meta interface{}) error
 			}
 		}
 
+		// NOTE: since agent_pool_id and execution_mode are both deprecated on
+		// tfe_workspace and we want tfe_workspace_settings to be authoritative,
+		// we must not set the overwrites values to false in the checks below.
+		// (Actually, I think we don't need to set them to true here either,
+		// since the API understands an explicit value in an update request to
+		// also result in an implicit overwrite = true.)
 		if d.HasChange("agent_pool_id") {
 			// Need the raw configuration value of the agent_pool_id because when the workspace's execution mode is set
 			// to default, we can't know for certain what the default value of the agent pool will be. This means we can
diff --git a/website/docs/d/workspace.html.markdown b/website/docs/d/workspace.html.markdown
index 2c1740d1f..c05287009 100644
--- a/website/docs/d/workspace.html.markdown
+++ b/website/docs/d/workspace.html.markdown
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ In addition to all arguments above, the following attributes are exported:
 * `trigger_patterns` - List of [glob patterns](https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/cloud-docs/workspaces/settings/vcs#glob-patterns-for-automatic-run-triggering) that describe the files Terraform Cloud monitors for changes. Trigger patterns are always appended to the root directory of the repository.
 * `vcs_repo` - Settings for the workspace's VCS repository.
 * `working_directory` - A relative path that Terraform will execute within.
-* `execution_mode` - **Deprecated** Indicates the [execution mode](https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/cloud-docs/workspaces/settings#execution-mode) of the workspace. Use the `tfe_workspace_settings` resource instead.
+* `execution_mode` - Indicates the [execution mode](https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/cloud-docs/workspaces/settings#execution-mode) of the workspace. **Note:** This value might be derived from an organization-level default or set on the workspace itself; see the [`tfe_workspace_settings` resource](tfe_workspace_settings) for details.
 * `html_url` - The URL to the browsable HTML overview of the workspace
 
 
diff --git a/website/docs/r/organization_default_settings.html.markdown b/website/docs/r/organization_default_settings.html.markdown
index b6e8754d6..72f4c3882 100644
--- a/website/docs/r/organization_default_settings.html.markdown
+++ b/website/docs/r/organization_default_settings.html.markdown
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ description: |-
 
 # tfe_organization_default_settings
 
-Primarily, this is used to set the default execution mode of an organization. This setting will be used as the default for all workspaces in the organization.
+Primarily, this is used to set the default execution mode of an organization. Settings configured here will be used as the default for all workspaces in the organization, unless they specify their own values with a [`tfe_workspace_settings` resource](workspace_settings.html) (or deprecated attributes on the workspace resource).
 
 ## Example Usage
 
@@ -32,7 +32,9 @@ resource "tfe_organization_default_settings" "org_default" {
 
 resource "tfe_workspace" "my_workspace" {
   name       = "my-workspace"
-  # Ensures this workspace will inherit the org defaults
+  # This workspace will use the org defaults, and will report those defaults as
+  # the values of its corresponding attributes. Use depends_on to get accurate
+  # values immediately, and to ensure reliable behavior of tfe_workspace_run.
   depends_on = [tfe_organization_default_settings.org_default]
 }
 ```
diff --git a/website/docs/r/workspace.html.markdown b/website/docs/r/workspace.html.markdown
index 22c6d9da7..e314fe4ce 100644
--- a/website/docs/r/workspace.html.markdown
+++ b/website/docs/r/workspace.html.markdown
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ description: |-
 
 Provides a workspace resource.
 
-~> **NOTE:** Setting the execution mode and agent pool affinity directly on the workspace has been deprecated in favor of using both [tfe_workspace_settings](workspace_settings) and [tfe_organization_default_settings](organization_default_settings). Use caution when unsetting `execution_mode` because the default value `"remote"` is no longer applied when the `execution_mode` is unset.
+~> **NOTE:** Setting the execution mode and agent pool affinity directly on the workspace is deprecated in favor of using both [tfe_workspace_settings](workspace_settings) and [tfe_organization_default_settings](organization_default_settings), since they allow more precise control and fully support [agent_pool_allowed_workspaces](agent_pool_allowed_workspaces). Use caution when unsetting `execution_mode`, as it now leaves any prior value unmanaged instead of reverting to the old default value of `"remote"`.
 
 ~> **NOTE:** Using `global_remote_state` or `remote_state_consumer_ids` requires using the provider with Terraform Cloud or an instance of Terraform Enterprise at least as recent as v202104-1.
 
diff --git a/website/docs/r/workspace_settings.markdown b/website/docs/r/workspace_settings.markdown
index 880e3ef90..8fa1e6e5d 100644
--- a/website/docs/r/workspace_settings.markdown
+++ b/website/docs/r/workspace_settings.markdown
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ description: |-
 
 # tfe_workspace_settings
 
-Manages or reads execution mode and agent pool settings for a workspace. If [tfe_organization_default_settings](organization_default_settings.html) are used, those settings may be read using a combination of the read-only `overwrites` argument and the setting itself.
+Manages or reads execution mode and agent pool settings for a workspace. This also interacts with the organization's default values for several settings, which can be managed with [tfe_organization_default_settings](organization_default_settings.html). If other resources need to identify whether a setting is a default or an explicit value set for the workspace, you can refer to the read-only `overwrites` argument.
 
 ## Example Usage
 
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ The following arguments are supported:
 * `agent_pool_id` - (Optional) The ID of an agent pool to assign to the workspace. Requires `execution_mode`
   to be set to `agent`. This value _must not_ be provided if `execution_mode` is set to any other value.
 * `execution_mode` - (Optional) Which [execution mode](https://developer.hashicorp.com/terraform/cloud-docs/workspaces/settings#execution-mode)
-  to use. Using Terraform Cloud, valid values are `remote`, `local` or `agent`. Defaults  your organization's default execution mode, or `remote` if no organization default is set. Using Terraform Enterprise, only `remote` and `local` execution modes are valid.  When set to `local`, the workspace will be used for state storage only.
+  to use. Using Terraform Cloud, valid values are `remote`, `local` or `agent`. Using Terraform Enterprise, only `remote` and `local` execution modes are valid. When set to `local`, the workspace will be used for state storage only. **Important:** If you omit this attribute, the resource configures the workspace to use your organization's default execution mode (which in turn defaults to `remote`), removing any explicit value that might have previously been set for the workspace.
 
 ## Attributes Reference