This has benefits for the employee, not just the company, in that it keeps the employees personal data out of the hands of the IT department.
I don't install anything personal on my work computer, but I wouldn't hesitate to open an email or pdf from a seemingly trusted source. I don't really blame the dev here.
What you propose is a reasonable solution, but I feel like it slams in the face of actual human behavior. Most people act the way I describe, even most tech professionals.
This might just result in employees finding ways to remote access their work computer from their personal computer from wherever they are, but at least that's an additional wall for would-be attackers to hurdle.