You are precisely correct. Said another way, HR exists to protect the company from you. One of the hidden purposes of an exit interview is to "lock in" your s

You are precisely correct. Said another way, HR exists to protect the company from you. One of the hidden purposes of an exit interview is to "lock in" your story before you leave. For example, if you say in your exit interview you are leaving because the commute is too long it will be harder for you to credibly say a year from now that you left because your boss was sexually harassing you.