hell even in the US, every single white collar job i've had required references, which is basically sort of a "quit your job on good terms or else you're gonna struggle more for the next one". the unfortunate reality is that i've worked for several bosses that turned out to not be very nice people and had a relationship with me where they acted like they hated me and was worthless but also upset when i tried to leave, which is at odds of their opinion of me not being that valuable? capitalism is tiresome