Template description
The machine starts at Draft, then Submitted, then ManagerReview. From ManagerReview, one arrow reaches Approved and another reaches Rejected. Approved continues to Archived, which is the only state with no forward arrow. Rejected returns to Draft. The request does not disappear. There is no arrow from Submitted back to Draft, no arrow from Approved back to ManagerReview, and no path that skips Archived after an approval. A rejection is a return to an editable draft, not a silent deletion and not a terminal archive.
When to use it
Open it when an employee asks where a denied request went, or when a manager expects approval to be the end of the record. You can show Rejected pointing at Draft, and Approved pointing at Archived, so both outcomes leave a state you can still name.
How to adapt it
Insert a further state, such as an HR check, only on the path that really has it, between ManagerReview and Approved or after Approved. If a rejection should be final, remove the arrow from Rejected to Draft and say what the employee must do instead. Rename the states to the words in your leave tool. Do not add an arrow from Draft straight to Approved.