Because, assumedly, there are co-workers you're leaving behind that you like/care about and you want to make their experience a bit better (if you can). It's ve

Because, assumedly, there are co-workers you're leaving behind that you like/care about and you want to make their experience a bit better (if you can). It's very rare for a person to just be like "I hate all of you. I'm out." Perhaps feedback like "A lot of people are unhappy about X. If X continues, others may end up quitting as well" will cause them to actually do something about X. Of course, if you're super cynical you could believe that they're just going to ignore your feedback. But this is why most exit interviews are done by HR and not your manager. From the original article, I think this guy's approach is almost 100% wrong. There are a few things that are accurate - it's not a place to just rant or blow off steam. But it IS a place to be honest and provide constructive feedback. If there's something going on that you're unhappy about, bring it up. This paranoia about "it will stay in your permanent file" is just cowardly. Of course, I've worked at places where, before my exit interview, people who are high up in the company (boss's bosses, etc) have always encouraged me to point out the things that can be improved.