diff --git a/drivers/tty/tty_io.c b/drivers/tty/tty_io.c
index 51f066aa375e..2bb4dfc02873 100644
--- a/drivers/tty/tty_io.c
+++ b/drivers/tty/tty_io.c
@@ -1028,8 +1028,8 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL(start_tty);
 /* We limit tty time update visibility to every 8 seconds or so. */
 static void tty_update_time(struct timespec *time)
 {
-	unsigned long sec = get_seconds() & ~7;
-	if ((long)(sec - time->tv_sec) > 0)
+	unsigned long sec = get_seconds();
+	if (abs(sec - time->tv_sec) & ~7)
 		time->tv_sec = sec;
 }