diff --git a/test/mp/test/spawn_tests.cpp b/test/mp/test/spawn_tests.cpp
index 4c7edba4..a14e50e2 100644
--- a/test/mp/test/spawn_tests.cpp
+++ b/test/mp/test/spawn_tests.cpp
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@
 
 namespace {
 
+constexpr auto FAILURE_TIMEOUT = std::chrono::seconds{30};
+
 // Poll for child process exit using waitpid(..., WNOHANG) until the child exits
 // or timeout expires. Returns true if the child exited and status_out was set.
 // Returns false on timeout or error.
@@ -94,9 +96,9 @@ KJ_TEST("SpawnProcess does not run callback in child")
     ::close(fd);
 
     int status{0};
-    // Give the child up to 1 second to exit. If it does not, terminate it and
+    // Give the child some time to exit. If it does not, terminate it and
     // reap it to avoid leaving a zombie behind.
-    const bool exited{WaitPidWithTimeout(pid, std::chrono::milliseconds{1000}, status)};
+    const bool exited{WaitPidWithTimeout(pid, FAILURE_TIMEOUT, status)};
     if (!exited) {
         ::kill(pid, SIGKILL);
         ::waitpid(pid, &status, /*options=*/0);