Pay Reliability, Non-Financial Rewards, and Turnover Intentions The Mediating Role of Subjective Well-Being in Financially Distressed Companies in Sri Lanka

Employee turnover remains one of the most enduring challenges in human resource management (HRM), imposing substantial costs on organizations worldwide. While financial rewards are important, research increasingly emphasizes the role of non-financial rewards (NFRs) such as supervisor support, autonomy, organizational justice, recognition, and communication quality in shaping employee retention. This concept paper integrates Subjective Well-Being (SWB) as the central mediating mechanism linking these NFRs to turnover intentions (TI), while proposing Pay Reliability (PR) as a critical moderating condition. However, in financially distressed contexts, where firms struggle to maintain liquidity, the foundational assumption of PR, the timely and predictable delivery of wages, is often violated. Grounded in Social Exchange Theory (SET), the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model, Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, and Psychological Contract Theory, the framework explains how NFRs enhance employee well-being and reduce turnover intentions; however, these effects weaken dramatically when pay is unreliable. Drawing on evidence from the recent economic crisis in Sri Lanka and global patterns of corporate distress, the paper highlights that PR is a neglected yet critical construct in turnover scholarship, shaping when and how non-financial rewards can translate into improved well-being and retention outcomes. The model advances turnover theory by integrating psychological, relational, and resource-based perspectives, offering a framework for future empirical validation across industries and economies and actionable insights for HR professionals. In practice, it emphasizes that symbolic and relational rewards must be grounded in pay reliability to sustain employee trust, well-being, and long-term commitment, particularly in volatile economic contexts.