Purpose: to analyze the perception of the employees of the mixed economy company CASAN regarding the challenges related to the existence of a competitive market in the Brazilian sanitation sector and the preservation of a mostly public management. This article presents the perception of the employees of a Brazilian state mixed economy company regarding its position in a competitive market environment imposed by the new legislation. Remaining mostly public or betting on a greater introduction of private capital is a question answered by employees and which involves the company's ability to overcome the recent challenges in the sector, pressured by privatization movements. The methodology used was the mixed approach, with the case study method, which has considered the internal scenario of the state CASAN, with the participation of 345 employees classified into three functional categories on which the survey technique has been applied, taking as a tool the questionnaire, which is added to the bibliographic review technique. The investigation presents the advance of the phenomenon of privatization in the sector, which has impacted the mission of the state sanitation companies, demanding restructuring that does not deviate from their social and public mission, not associated with the eminent perspective on the profit from the perspective of employees.
Theoretical framework: the article presents support in the specialized literature on the sanitation policy and market in Brazil, and on the position of the sanitation service as a human right.
Method/design/approach: the survey technique was used, with the questionnaire tool applied to 345 employees of the target Company, compared with the bibliographic review.
Results and conclusion: The State Basic Sanitation Companies (CESBs) were launched, especially after Federal Law No. 14,026/2020, to a competitive market, with the requirement of participation in bidding, without resolution of their social charges. However, the majority position of the employees is refractory to privatization or private control of the management of services to overcome the imposed challenges.
Research implications: it presents managers and society with the importance of preserving public capital in sanitation management as a human right, and ways for CESBs to overcome the challenges of the sector based on the perception of employees.
Originality/value: expands the discussions related to the new legislative framework for sanitation in Brazil (Federal Law No. 14,026/2020) presenting implications that risk the existence of the CESBs and a solidarity management model, from the perspective of the employees of the Water and Sanitation Catarinense Company (CASAN) stratified between operational, administrative and bosses/directors employees.
