Honestly this is something that should of been in-game forever.. clearing old content to advance to newer content is just common sense.

It unlocks more dialog options, it gives you more understanding of the chrs, and it gives you more experience on your job in different environments.

If your someone who doesn't care for the story.. (firstly why are you even playing this game then?) Then your going to skip the cutscenes and move along anyways so it doesn't effect you at all.