diff --git a/pkg/stanza/operator/helper/time.go b/pkg/stanza/operator/helper/time.go
index f9326c73dd18..158fffc8bee7 100644
--- a/pkg/stanza/operator/helper/time.go
+++ b/pkg/stanza/operator/helper/time.go
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ const NativeKey = "native" // provided for operator development
 // NewTimeParser creates a new time parser with default values
 func NewTimeParser() TimeParser {
 	return TimeParser{
-		LayoutType: "strptime",
+		LayoutType: StrptimeKey,
 	}
 }