diff --git a/src/shared/util.c b/src/shared/util.c
index b1a9db1d466..6b5b07463c2 100644
--- a/src/shared/util.c
+++ b/src/shared/util.c
@@ -513,7 +513,7 @@ char *truncate_nl(char *s) {
         return s;
 }
 
-int get_process_state(pid_t pid) {
+char get_process_state(pid_t pid) {
         const char *p;
         char state;
         int r;