diff --git a/R/bar.R b/R/bar.R
index 93e8d29..90519c1 100644
--- a/R/bar.R
+++ b/R/bar.R
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ hbar <- function(
 #' @param y A quoted character column or coercible as a character column.
 #' @param group Some quoted grouping categorical column, e.g. administrative areas or population groups.
 #' @param facet Some quoted grouping categorical column, e.g. administrative areas or population groups.
-#' @param order Should bars be ordered? "none" if no, "y" if yes based on y, "grouped" if yes based on y and group.
 #' @param x_rm_na Remove NAs in x?
 #' @param y_rm_na Remove NAs in y?
 #' @param group_rm_na Remove NAs in group?
diff --git a/R/reorder_by.R b/R/reorder_by.R
index cd6df24..ad0cf9a 100644
--- a/R/reorder_by.R
+++ b/R/reorder_by.R
@@ -48,6 +48,9 @@ reorder_by <- function(df, x, y, group = "", order = "y", dir_order = 1) {
   # dir_order is 1 or -1 (numeric scalar)
   checkmate::assert_subset(dir_order, c(1, -1))
 
+  # Convert dir_order to decreasing logical flag
+  dir_order_lgl <- (dir_order == -1)
+
   #------ Reorder
 
   # droplevels first
@@ -58,29 +61,33 @@ reorder_by <- function(df, x, y, group = "", order = "y", dir_order = 1) {
   # reording options
   if (order == "y") {
     # Order by values of y
-    df <- df[order(df[[y]] * dir_order), ]
+    df <- df[order(df[[y]], decreasing = dir_order_lgl), ]
     df[[x]] <- forcats::fct_inorder(df[[x]])
   } else if (order == "grouped_y" && group != "") {
     # Order by group first, then by values of y
-    df <- df[order(df[[group]], df[[y]] * dir_order), ]
+    df <- df[
+      order(df[[group]], df[[y]], decreasing = c(FALSE, dir_order_lgl)),
+    ]
     df[[x]] <- forcats::fct_inorder(df[[x]])
   } else if (order == "grouped_y" && group == "") {
     # Fallback to ordering by y if group is empty
     rlang::warn("Group is empty. Ordering by y only.")
-    df <- df[order(df[[y]] * dir_order), ]
+    df <- df[order(df[[y]], decreasing = dir_order_lgl), ]
     df[[x]] <- forcats::fct_inorder(df[[x]])
   } else if (order == "x") {
     # Order alphabetically by x
-    df <- df[order(df[[x]] * dir_order), ]
+    df <- df[order(df[[x]], decreasing = dir_order_lgl), ]
     df[[x]] <- forcats::fct_inorder(df[[x]])
   } else if (order == "grouped_x" && group != "") {
     # Order by group first, then alphabetically by x
-    df <- df[order(df[[group]], df[[x]] * dir_order), ]
+    df <- df[
+      order(df[[group]], df[[x]], decreasing = c(FALSE, dir_order_lgl)),
+    ]
     df[[x]] <- forcats::fct_inorder(df[[x]])
   } else if (order == "grouped_x" && group == "") {
     # Fallback to ordering by x if group is empty
     rlang::warn("Group is empty. Ordering by x only.")
-    df <- df[order(df[[x]] * dir_order), ]
+    df <- df[order(df[[x]], decreasing = dir_order_lgl), ]
     df[[x]] <- forcats::fct_inorder(df[[x]])
   }
 
diff --git a/man/bar.Rd b/man/bar.Rd
index 2a04989..db8545a 100644
--- a/man/bar.Rd
+++ b/man/bar.Rd
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ bar(
 
 \item{facet}{Some quoted grouping categorical column, e.g. administrative areas or population groups.}
 
-\item{order}{Should bars be ordered? "none" if no, "y" if yes based on y, "grouped" if yes based on y and group.}
+\item{order}{A character scalar specifying the order type (one of "none", "y", "grouped"). See details.}
 
 \item{x_rm_na}{Remove NAs in x?}