Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating factor of interactional justice (IJ) between the specific types of human resource (HR) practices: training and development (TD), compensation and benefits (CB), work process (WP), and perceived organizational support (POS). There has been scant attention paid in the past studies in examining the specific components of HR practices on organizational support and IJ. Design/methodology/approach The study was conducted in a healthcare organization, and employed quantitative analysis based on surveys and interviews conducted with 150 nurses. Confirmatory factor analysis and regression analysis were generated to examine the relationships among TD, CB, WP and IJ and POS. Findings Significant findings demonstrated that there are no direct effects between CB and TD, and POS. The result revealed that establishment of HR practices is not synonymous to organizational support. However, WP is positively correlated to POS. Further analysis indicated that IJ mediated between all three HR practices (CB, TD and WP) and POS. The findings are aligned with the previous research relating to the absence of direct correlation between team training and POS (Aguinis and Kraiger, 2009; Koster et al., 2011). The study suggests that adopting an interactive and a fair approach HR practices is crucial in managing the perceptions of employee support and workplace fairness. The management who enact the policies and practices are seen as the representatives in facilitating the WP (Wiili-Peltola et al., 2007). CB and TD are extrinsic benefits that are significant in individual personal and career growth. Hence, these components of reward system can be employed as a HR mechanism to promote trust and support with employees. Practical implications The empirical evidence in this present study shows that it bodes well for an organization to understand the impact of HR practices and policies on employees’ perceptions of support and fair treatment to promote organizational effectiveness and efficiency. The study shows that HR practices can enhance the psychological well-being of the employees through the support system through an open-communication channel. Providing a clear channel of communication in how the reward and benefits systems are administered and distributed, and promoting shared goals and objectives (Lyubovnikova et al., 2018) between employer and employee can be instrumental in promoting IJ in HR practices. Originality/value This study has enriched the theoretical and practical implications of examining the specific components of HR practices in association with IJ and organizational support. The results shed light on the balancing act of adopting the hard and soft HR management in executing the HR practices.