diff --git a/src/modules/sway/workspaces.cpp b/src/modules/sway/workspaces.cpp
index dec5cddf0..04eb70f58 100644
--- a/src/modules/sway/workspaces.cpp
+++ b/src/modules/sway/workspaces.cpp
@@ -494,14 +494,18 @@ std::string Workspaces::trimWorkspaceName(std::string name) {
   return name;
 }
 
+bool checkFocused(const Json::Value &node) {
+  return node["focused"].asBool() ||
+         std::any_of(node["nodes"].begin(), node["nodes"].end(),
+                     [](const auto &child) { return checkFocused(child); });
+}
+
 void Workspaces::onButtonReady(const Json::Value &node, Gtk::Button &button) {
   if (config_["current-only"].asBool()) {
     // If a workspace has a focused container then get_tree will say
     // that the workspace itself isn't focused.  Therefore we need to
     // check if any of its nodes are focused as well.
-    bool focused = node["focused"].asBool() ||
-                   std::any_of(node["nodes"].begin(), node["nodes"].end(),
-                               [](const auto &child) { return child["focused"].asBool(); });
+    bool focused = checkFocused(node);
 
     if (focused) {
       button.show();