The CEO of one of Europe's largest IT companies has told his staff they are to stop emailing each other stating that it is no longer an "appropriate" communication tool.

The Telegraph reports that Thierry Breton, CEO of Atos, wants to abandon email all together within 18 months. Instead, he wants to promote instant messaging and the good old fashioned spoke word.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Breton hasn't sent a work email for three years.

Now, France's former finance minister is hoping to pass his ethos on to his employees stating to the Telegraph:

"It is not normal that some of our fellow employees spend hours in the evening dealing with their emails."

"The email is no longer the appropriate (communication) tool."

The newspaper also reported that only 11 percent of French 11 to 19-year-olds utilize email as a communication method.