diff --git a/modules/nextflow/src/main/groovy/nextflow/processor/TaskProcessor.groovy b/modules/nextflow/src/main/groovy/nextflow/processor/TaskProcessor.groovy
index a1d48e5316..4366fbba4f 100644
--- a/modules/nextflow/src/main/groovy/nextflow/processor/TaskProcessor.groovy
+++ b/modules/nextflow/src/main/groovy/nextflow/processor/TaskProcessor.groovy
@@ -828,7 +828,11 @@ class TaskProcessor {
             try {
                 if( resumeDir != workDir )
                     exists = workDir.exists()
-                if( !exists && !workDir.mkdirs() )
+                if( exists ) {
+                    tries++
+                    continue
+                }
+                else if( !workDir.mkdirs() )
                     throw new IOException("Unable to create directory=$workDir -- check file system permissions")
             }
             finally {