In this economy you might not get a raise, but promotions seem to be plentiful.

This phenomenon is partly due to the many layoffs we’ve seen. Managers are short handed and want employees to do more so they offer them a promotion so they’ll do the job of two people but feel better about it. I call this a fake promotion.

There are also the real promotions, when companies grow, add projects and need people to run those. And of course there’s the traditional moving-up-the ladder promotion. Your employer has a long-time promotion process and you’re number has finally come up.

In all these scenarios you are not insane if you decline such an offer. Trust me, lots of people do this for lots of reasons. The trick is doing it the right way so you don’t end up hurting your career.

So why would someone say “no thank you” to career upward mobility?

Debra Benton, an executive coach and author of “How to Act Like a CEO”, said she’s asked 100 managers in order to answer this questions: “Why people don’t want a promotion?”

1.Work/life balance concerns. Hours required and increased obligations will take too much from contact and involvement in their family life.

2.Feel fulfilled where they are. Happy and challenged doing what they are currently doing.

3.No experience in new job. Feel they aren’t equipped for the job.

4.Fear of failure. Scared they can’t handle the new job and will fail.

5.No desire for increased hassle or stress. Don’t want the extra effort/accountability/responsibility and blame of a higher position.

6.Don’t like the new job being promoted to. Type of work or location is undesirable.

7.They don’t like the new boss they would have to report to.

8.The job doesn’t fit their long term goals. Have other plans; other priorities the company isn’t aware of.

9.Perceived conflict in ideology. The culture/values/ethics of the new job aren’t aligned with their beliefs.

10.Concerned with what others will think. Reel they will betray their peers if they take a boss role.

For the most part, 3, 4 and 10, are not good reasons to turn down a promotion, but the rest make a lot of sense.

I’ve talked to quite a few career experts and human resource managers about the issue, and they all said they’re seeing this phenomenon more and more. They also all conceded that, for the most part, employees who turn down promotions risk losing the respect of the higher ups.

But there is hope. Perceptions are beginning to change, and if you handle the situation just right your decision not to advance may not doom your career.

In the past, says career expert Roberta Chinsky Matuson, “it was unheard of not to accept a promotion even if it meant relocating your family. That would have been the end of your career.” But with all the focus on work balance issues in recent years, she adds, employers are starting to realize “it’s okay for employees to be an individual contributor.”

If you’re penalized for not moving up, she explains, then the company might not be the best place for you.

So look closely at the history at your company. “If everyone left in individual contributor roles are those who upper management thinks don’t have potential then chances are you don’t want to stay there long term,” adds Dr. Robert Kelley, Adjunct Professor of Organizational Behavior and Theory Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon

As the economy shifts to an intellectual capital economy, Kelley explains, companies are realizing some of their best talent is among the rank and file. “Take someone who is good scientist, or researcher and has lots of ideas for new products. Now you put him into a management role and all of a sudden he’s being distracted by schedules, or Jane and Joe don’t like each other. He’s no longer coming up with new ideas.”

When you approach your boss with your decision not to take a move up (and you should definitely take time to think about it for your own sake, and to at least give your supervisors the perception that you took the offer seriously) you need to sell the idea of you staying put as a win win for the company and you.

“Take a more proactive stance and persuade them why it’s a good idea and how you can add value to the company,” Kelley says. Maybe point out how a former colleague moved up through the ranks and it turned out to be bad for everyone involved. (Be careful about overly bashing a co-worker because no one likes a back stabber.)

And don’t forget about molding a management job in the shape you want, Kelley advises. If you want to be home by 5 p.m. every night, bring that up when you’re exploring the possibility of taking a promotion.

Here’s what to keep in mind when you approach your boss with a no thanks, says Bonnie D. Monych, author of “Shift Happens!” Straight Talk about Jobs, Work and Careers.”

1. Communicate with your employer based upon their perspective not yours. “What is most important for my employer?”
2. Make sure to say, “I’m flattered” and be thankful.
3. Point out the two or three things you are doing now in your job to contribute to the betterment of the company and how you can do more in your present position.
4. Remember to say you’re willing to help in any way you can, and your definitely open to taking on additional work if needed.

never, ever say, “I’m not ready”, or “I can’t handle the job”, Monych stresses. “They’ll think they misjudged you and start to think you don’t feel as confident or capable as they though you were.”

Marjorie Brody, author of “Career Magic: A Women’s Guide to Reward & Recognition”, has found that typically you can say “no” the first time and it’s accepted; a “no” the second time starts to give you a reputation as someone that doesn’t want to advance; and by the third time you’re probably asking for trouble.

Bottom line, you have to do what’s right for you, but sometimes taking the promotion plunge may work out better than you think.

I hear this often, that people were worried or afraid to take that step up but it was the best thing they ever did.

Do you have a promotion story?