diff --git a/tmate-slave.c b/tmate-slave.c
index 6f1b2e72..51fcdb21 100644
--- a/tmate-slave.c
+++ b/tmate-slave.c
@@ -393,8 +393,7 @@ static void jail(void)
 		tmate_fatal("Cannot setuid()");
 #endif
 
-	if (nice(1) < 0)
-		tmate_fatal("Cannot nice()");
+	nice(1);
 
 	tmate_info("Dropped priviledges to %s (%d,%d), jailed in %s",
 		   TMATE_JAIL_USER, uid, gid, TMATE_WORKDIR "/jail");