diff --git a/oak-segment/src/main/java/org/apache/jackrabbit/oak/plugins/segment/Compactor.java b/oak-segment/src/main/java/org/apache/jackrabbit/oak/plugins/segment/Compactor.java
index 53b2a045c70..a5cefa845c8 100644
--- a/oak-segment/src/main/java/org/apache/jackrabbit/oak/plugins/segment/Compactor.java
+++ b/oak-segment/src/main/java/org/apache/jackrabbit/oak/plugins/segment/Compactor.java
@@ -56,6 +56,15 @@ public class Compactor {
     /** Logger instance */
     private static final Logger log = LoggerFactory.getLogger(Compactor.class);
 
+    private static boolean eagerFlush = Boolean
+            .getBoolean("oak.compaction.eagerFlush");
+
+    static {
+        if (eagerFlush) {
+            log.debug("Eager flush enabled.");
+        }
+    }
+
     /**
      * Locks down the RecordId persistence structure
      */
@@ -245,7 +254,12 @@ public boolean childNodeAdded(String name, NodeState after) {
 
             progress.onNode();
             try {
-                NodeBuilder child = EMPTY_NODE.builder();
+                NodeBuilder child;
+                if (eagerFlush) {
+                    child = builder.setChildNode(name);
+                } else {
+                    child = EMPTY_NODE.builder();
+                }
                 boolean success =  new CompactDiff(child, path, name).diff(EMPTY_NODE, after);
                 if (success) {
                     SegmentNodeState state = writer.writeNode(child.getNodeState());