diff --git a/src/utils/process.cpp b/src/utils/process.cpp
index 56db644f..1f7ffce6 100644
--- a/src/utils/process.cpp
+++ b/src/utils/process.cpp
@@ -37,11 +37,10 @@ namespace process_util {
    * Execute command using shell
    */
   void exec_sh(const char* cmd) {
-    static const string shell{env_util::get("SHELL", "/bin/sh")};
-
     if (cmd != nullptr) {
+      static const string shell{env_util::get("POLYBAR_SHELL", "/bin/sh")};
       execlp(shell.c_str(), shell.c_str(), "-c", cmd, nullptr);
-      throw system_error("execvp() failed");
+      throw system_error("execlp() failed");
     }
   }