diff --git a/src/libutil/sync.hh b/src/libutil/sync.hh
index 3b2710f6f..e1d591d77 100644
--- a/src/libutil/sync.hh
+++ b/src/libutil/sync.hh
@@ -57,11 +57,11 @@ public:
         }
 
         template<class Rep, class Period>
-        void wait_for(std::condition_variable & cv,
+        std::cv_status wait_for(std::condition_variable & cv,
             const std::chrono::duration<Rep, Period> & duration)
         {
             assert(s);
-            cv.wait_for(lk, duration);
+            return cv.wait_for(lk, duration);
         }
 
         template<class Rep, class Period, class Predicate>