you might get an error like this:

Unable to update runtime folder sharing status: There was an error mounting Shared Folders file system inside the guest operating system.

or your shared folder may not even mouth in the linux guest system. this is how to fix it:

sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-$(uname -r)
sudo vmware-config-tools.pl

why it happens?
every time you upgrade your linux to a newer version this problem may occur.

if that didn't work try

cd ~
apt-get install git gcc make linux-headers-$(uname -r)
git clone https://github.com/rasa/vmware-tools-patches.git
cd vmware-tools-patches

Get the last version of VMwareTools clicking on VMWare Bar > VM > Install/Reinstall VMWare Tools. It will open a virtual CD containing the "tar" file.

cp /media/cdrom/VMwareTools-9.6.2-1688356.tar.gz downloads/
./untar-and-patch-and-compile.sh