You really can't avoid it. I've been in the same boat, but the corporate culture is the corporate culture. It's like those "optional" outside functions that are really mandatory. They can't force compliance but when there's an opportunity to ding you down the road for some minor infraction tha...
It'll eat into my savings from before the apprenticeship every time. I really can't save money during it (How, if you get 1/3 of minimum wage?) and I don't have any other income sources. Bonuses aren't a thing here either.
@Magisch as I said, I understand and I sympathize. I was once stranded at work because I couldn't buy gas to get home. If you can freelance, or even sell off what you don't need, do so. If not, if you are close to a coworker who could help you out when it comes to cake time, ask.
Can you bring in another cheaper alternative like grocery store donuts? I understand that corporate culture can be difficult to navigate but this is rather ridiculous. If you have a good relationship with your supervisor I would speak to them and see if they have any suggestions for what has worked in the past.
Just to mirror what @JasonJ said, there might be cheaper alternatives. You could also make a batch of home-made cakes for a lot cheaper than you can buy them. Taking the extra effort to bake something (assuming you have the facilities to do something) might even earn you favour even if the cakes themselves aren't very good.
@RaoulMensink Every German appartment should have an oven. Not long ago they even came preinstalled by your landlord. While there certainly are some that don't, most should have one.
@JasonJ I would think that simply not bringing the cake in would fly under the radar a lot easier than bringing in something cheap or something that isn't cake at all.
@RichardU well OP said they got dirty looks for their cheap cake so if the choice is to be looked down upon for a cheap cake (which is still relatively expensive for OP's pay) or looked down on for bringing nothing which is free, I'll take the latter. This is a really foreign concept to me for sure so the only reason I mention it is because OP already said they had bad luck with getting cheap cake.
Why would anyone want to "climb the ladder" in a culture like this? I would be trying to save as much of each paycheck as I could and planning an exit strategy from such a toxic place.
Why do you think it's not right? I much prefer this kind of company to companies where people are strangers to each others, and being able to enjoy cake almost every day is a big plus :) In the second company I worked for (in France), the custom was to bring croissants and other "viennoiseries". Best company I have ever worked for! PS : people who find it unfair/unjust/"oh my god it's so cruel" can just go to other companies where people don't care about each other so much!
@Shautieh: In my book, passive-aggressively forcing employees to pay for social functions they can't afford is anything but "caring about each other".
@Shautieh: No, because saying hello does not cost anything/disadvantage anyone. Demanding they spend more than a month's salary on their coworkers does. And this answer described a situation/culture that "only gets worse" as you move up it.
@R.. Not bringing anything while every one else bring cakes for their birthdays seems really unfair to me. Everybody else doesn't have high salaries, and it seems that every other apprentices have always been OK with it and didn't end up dying of hunger (of course, there is free cake all year long :3). BTW, it's not a month's salary but this much after bills: huge difference... TL;DR: if the OP considers this culture hurtful for whatever reason, he should look for work elsewhere instead of ruining it for everyone else.
@MKII One: appartment Two; german appartment can be as Little as a 16m2 room with a fridge, sink, table and bed. Where the water might not be drinkable if you are susceptable to illness.
Discussion on answer by Richard U: De…
Discussion on answer by Richard U: De…