diff --git a/src/units.hh b/src/units.hh
index f37dc960..2ef536d2 100644
--- a/src/units.hh
+++ b/src/units.hh
@@ -113,7 +113,7 @@ public:
     explicit constexpr operator bool() const { return m_value; }
 
     friend size_t hash_value(RealType val) { return hash_value(val.m_value); }
-    friend size_t abs(RealType val) { return abs(val.m_value); }
+    friend size_t abs(RealType val) { return val.m_value < ValueType(0) ? -val.m_value : val.m_value; }
 
 private:
     ValueType m_value;